Lara Favaretto
dal 10/7/2008 al 12/7/2008
Segnalato da
10/7/2008
Lara Favaretto
Chelsea College of Art and Design, London
The Poor are Mad consists of a brightly painted trailer hanging mid-air by a thread, while the melancholic serenade Rosamunde can be heard from within. Appearing as a shared vision, the work contrasts dream-like spectacle against the heavy mechanical apparatus needed to create such an illusion. The Poor are Mad is named after the eponymous novel by writer Cesare Zavattini, a surreal story in which the poor are the ultimate depositories of human dignity.
In her installations, objects and performances, Lara Favaretto (b. 1973, Italy)
creates situations in which everyday conventions are momentarily subverted
and turned on their head. Employing paradox, sarcasm and the absurd as
her strategies, the artist evokes provocative and ephemeral illusions. Whether
asking three men to chisel a piece of marble into dust (Doing, 1999), setting
up a discussion about finding ways to make a donkey fly (Donkeys Might
Fly, 2003), or inviting the Queen of England to attend Frieze Art Fair (Project
for some Hallucinations, 2007), Lara Favaretto exploits the potential that generates
from open propositions and the loss of control that ensues, investing these
confounding tasks with a shared faith in the impossible.
The Poor are Mad, 2005 references to the survival strategies of gypsies,
in particular contemporary fairground showmen who ‘disappear in order
to exist’. Originally commissioned by Castello di Rivoli in Turin and shown
in London for the first time, the work consists of a brightly painted trailer
hanging mid-air by a thread, while the melancholic serenade Rosamunde
can be heard from within. Appearing as a shared vision, the work contrasts
dream-like spectacle against the heavy mechanical apparatus needed to create
such an illusion. The Poor are Mad is named after the eponymous novel by writer
Cesare Zavattini, a surreal story in which the poor – whose folly, imagination
and ingenuity are means against constituted conventions – are the ultimate
depositories of human dignity.
Preview Friday 11 July, 6.30 - 8.30pm
Friday 11 July, 7pm, Lara Favaretto will give a talk about her work at the Chelsea College of Art & Design.
Free. To book a place contact Sonya Dyer, Events Co-ordinator at s.dyer@chelsea.arts.ac.uk or 020 7514 7948.
Parade Ground -Chelsea College of Art & Design
16 John Islip Street London