Where we come from. The exhibition, accompanying the Photography Biennal of Amsterdam, features video, installations, photography and documentaries that continue the thoughtful sociological and anthropological research of ZimmerFrei, in which the relation between urban surroundings and the individual impression that one has of those is emphasised.
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a cura di Silvia Cirelli
Come evento collaterale alla Biennale di Fotografia (GRID 2012) di Amsterdam, il 15 maggio 2012 L’Ozio inaugura la tanto attesa personale del
collettivo ZimmerFrei (Massimo Carozzi, Anna de Manincor, Anna Rispoli), fra i più apprezzati artisti multimediali del panorama contemporaneo
italiano. Where we come from, questo il titolo della mostra curata da Silvia Cirelli, racchiude la grande versatilità stilistica ed espressiva di questo eclettico
collettivo, spaziando fra video, installazioni, fotografie e documentari. Fedeli al tema scelto per la Biennale di Fotografia, Urban Reality Check.
Reflections on changing behaviour and space, le opere in mostra riprendono l’attenta ricerca degli ZimmerFrei verso indagini di carattere sociale e
antropologico, evidenziando gli articolati legami fra ambiente urbano e la percezione individuale che si ha di esso. Il risultato è una narrazione emotiva
di territori collettivi e memorie private, in una sinfonia creativa che smaschera le complessità dell’universo sociale.
Apre la mostra la serie fotografica Tomorrow is the question del 2010, un nucleo di dodici scatti che immortalano la distesa dorata di Coney Island, dove una
famiglia della comunità ebraica Chabad-Lubavitch si disperde nella suggestiva luce del tramonto. L’atmosfera quasi surreale mostra un paesaggio d’altri
tempi, abbandonato e sospeso fra passato e futuro, in una dimensione allo stesso tempo chimerica e malinconica. Questa percezione nostalgica si perde
poi nell’ironica fotografia The Guardians, nella quale due simpatici cani boxer sembrano annoiarsi fra le vie di una poco affollata Bruxelles.
La predisposizione del collettivo verso l’osservazione di scenari urbani riprende ancora nell’opera Muddy Water, ambientata nel Puffin Foundation Park
del New Jersey. Questa singolare installazione è composta di tre visori stereoscopici dentro i quali si spia una trama misteriosa ed enigmatica, rivelata
tramite una sollecitazione sia visiva che sonora. Il tempo sembra fermo, paralizzato nell’immobilità dello scatto ma, grazie all’audio in sottofondo, il
racconto prende vita tridimensionale e prosegue nell’immaginazione dello spettatore.
L’indissolubile legame fra tempo e spazio, già riconoscibile in Muddy Water, è poi approfondito nel video Panorama Roma, un progetto che prende av-
vio proprio nel 2004 con l’esperienza romana in Piazza del Popolo. Questa serie di Panorami, di cui Panorama Roma fa parte, sono veri e propri set
cinematografici dove le immagini sono state accelerate con un rapporto di 1:20, grazie al metodo di ripresa time-lapse. L’equilibrio fra il tempo, con la
sua complessa dimensione continuamente in movimento e lo spazio, abitato da ignari passanti e insoliti performer, origina un ritmo percettivo tanto
imprevedibile quanto autentico.
Per avvicinare il pubblico alla vasta produzione multimediale degli ZimmerFrei saranno inoltre presentati, a cadenza mensile, tre documentari che fanno
parte del ciclo “ritratti di città”: Memoria Esterna del 2007, uno sguardo sulla storia della città di Milano, attraverso i ricordi e le memorie degli stessi mi-
lanesi; LKN Confidential del 2010, una panoramica di rue de Laeken/Lakensestraat a Bruxelles, raccontata dai commercianti che la abitano; The Hill del
2011, girato nel quartiere popolare di Nørrebro, a Copenhagen.
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curated by Silvia Cirelli
Accompanying the Photography Biennal (GRID 2012) of Amsterdam, on May 15th 2012 l’Ozio will open the long awaited personal exhibition of the
ZimmerFrei collective (Massimo Carozzi, Anna de Manincor, Anna Rispoli), some of the most highly regarded names in multimedia art in present day
Italy. Where we come from, the title of the exhibition which is curated by Silvia Cirelli, embosoms the enormous stylistic and expressive versatility of
this eclectic collective, a versatility which includes video, installations, photography and documentaries which are all linked to the theme of the Biennal
of Photography, Urban Reality Check. Refections on changing behaviour and space, the exhibited works continue the thoughtful sociological and anthropolo-
gical research of ZimmerFrei, in which the relation between urban surroundings and the individual impression that one has of those is emphasised.
The result is an emotional narration of collective territories and personal memories, in a creative symphony which unmasks the complexity of the social
universe. The exhibition sets off with the photo series Tomorrow is the question from 2010, a cluster of twelve photos which immortalise the golden space
of Coney Island, where a family from the Jewish community of Chabad-Lubavitch dissolves in the suggestive light of the sunset. The almost surreal
atmosphere shows a landscape from different times, abandoned and pending somewhere between past and future, in a both fantastic and melancholic
dimension. This nostalgic impression is then lost in the ironic image of The Guardians, in which two nice looking Boxers appear to be bored on the
streets of a not so crowded Brussels.The collective’s preference for urban scenes is then followed up by the work Muddy Water, in the surroundings of
Puffin Foundation Park in New Jersey. This extraordinary installation consists of three stereoscopic visors in which one witnesses a mysterious and
puzzling story, which is revealed by both visual and auditory stimulation. Time seems to come to a halt, paralysed by the stillness of the pho-
to, but, thanks to the sound in the background, the story takes on a third dimension and continues in the imagination of the spectator.
The unbreakable connection between time and space, already visible in Muddy Water, is further explored in the video Panorama Roma, a project
begun in 2004 with the experience of the Roman Piazza del Popolo. These series Panorami, to which Panorama Roma belongs, are true film sets where
the images have been accelerated with a factor 1:20, thanks to the time-lapse method. The balance between time, with its complex and always mo-
ving dimension, and space, inhabited by oblivious passers-by and offbeat performers, gives an unpredictable yet authentic rhythm to our perception.
To introduce the audience to the enormous multimedia production of ZimmerFrei, three documentaries will be presented in three months
time, which are part of the series of city portraits: Memoria Esterna from 2007, a glance at the history of the city of Milan, through the memo-
ries and recollections of the people of Milan themselves; LKN Confidential from 2010, a panorama of the rue de Laeken/Lakensestraat in Brus-
sels, which is told by the merchants who live there; The Hill from 2011, filmed in the working-class area of Nørrebro in Copenhagen.
BIO
ZimmerFrei is an artist collective (Massimo Carozzi, Anna de Manincor, Anna Rispoli) which was founded in 2000 and is based in Bologna and Brussels.
ZimmerFrei produces sound installations and videos, performances, documentaries and photo series, and is dedicated to researching true and imaginary urban
spaces, and mixes techniques from cinema, theatre and music. Their recent works include urban scenes, narrations in which documentary, sound literature, and
fantasy are mixed and explore the borders between public and personal space.
The group has realised several collective exhibitions, events and in-residence projects, among which “ON. Luci di pubblica piazza”, “Sound Facts”, “Space is the
Place” in Bologna and “Neverending Cinema” in the Galleria Civica of Trento.
In 2011 the MAMbo Museum in Bologna has dedicated a personal exhibition to ZimmerFrei and has acquired a light sculpture for its permanent collection.
The sculpture has been placed at the entrance of the Cineteca of Bologna in via Azzo Gardino 65.
www.zimmerfrei.co.it
Image: ZimmerFrei, Tomorrow is the question #4, 2010, digital print on wood.
OPENING 15.05.2012 at 5.30 pm
l’Ozio
Ferdinand Bolstraat 26, 1072 LK Amsterdam
Orari d’esposizione: dalle 12:00 alle 15:00 e dalle 18:00 alle 20:00
Tra le ore 15:00 e le ore 18:00 solo su appuntamento
Exhibition hours: 12:00 - 15:00 and 18:00 - 20:00, between
15:00 and 18:00 only by appointment.