Curatorial statement
Punctually, the emergence of new technologies leads humanity to confront a series of questions related to the social, economic and emotional implications that may arise from their use.
In the current historical moment, the awareness and realization by the masses of the development of new possible digital worlds – the metaverses, virtual and augmented reality – occurs simultaneously with political, health and social emergencies of global reach that have upset our perception of the physical-real world.
A shared and shareable sense of alertness, of disorientation, with respect to the changes we are witnessing, makes us question the potential – perhaps negative? – of technological innovations which, at their initial stage of development, can be corrupted, exploited or bent at the service of unhealthy logic of economy and power, if not even the
possible dehumanizing and alienating effect of these on everyday life.
Given the context, therefore, the need arises to analyze the state of things at a deeper level, that of the collective unconscious where archetypes mix with the stresses of the present.
Analyzing phenomena such as contemporary mythopoiesis – that is the formation of new mythologies and, by extension, how they transform, act and what they produce – is therefore central and urgent in addressing issues related to the dimensions of politics, society, economy, identity, imagination, memory, history, beliefs.
The myth in its apparitions, interruptions and short circuits – whirlwinds of contaminations in which the places of the conscious and the unconscious lose their boundaries, where
everything changes and becomes something else – makes visible the set of behaviors, practices and social customs in the which are the basis of collective ties.
From East to West, from ancient China to ancient Greece, the fable, the fairy tale, the fantastic tale, the myth, and sometimes the superstition and its beliefs have told transversally, over the millennia, the present of peoples that generated them.
It is therefore from asking oneself about mythology or, given the vastness of its historical and geographical declinations, about mythologies, in the era in which the technological revolution of the 1950s – also known as the Third Industrial Revolution – is giving way to a new digital revolution much more focused on the virtual world, which is born Mitologie Digitali.
Curatorial team
Silvia Vannacci
Curator
Silvia is a curator and Chinese contemporary art specialist. With a background in sinology and art, she lives and works between Shanghai and Florence.
With a global vision, Silvia uses her transcultural marketing skills on international projects, especially the projects between Europe, the Americas and Asia. She has collaborated with art institutions, international galleries and fairs, like Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre, Hymalayas Museum, Prada Rongzhai, Yuz Museum, MAM Shanghai, Art Basel and Artissima, to name a few. She has also had the privilege of being part of a variety of projects involving international artists, government institutions, art schools and architecture firms.
She has always been interested in the processes of communication and language as vehicles of thought and culture. Regarding contemporary art as lingua franca of contemporaneity, she developed and deepened her knowledge on cultural, academic and geopolitical topics, setting the perspective in her research, curatorial work and productions.
Lisha LIANG
Assistant curator
Lisha Liang is a multidisciplinary visual artist, video artist, and photographer based in Firenze. Her work encompasses performance, installation, sculpture, video, photography, painting, and more. The heterogeneous language of art gives life an intimate and inner life. Her research direction is to address social issues and use her artwork to reflect the inequality of society. Due to the frequency of various social issues concerning women in recent years, she has gradually shifted her research focus to the topic of sex education and domestic violence. Through her feminine perspective and sensibility, she brings deeper awareness and analysis of such issues’ existence and negative effects. Lisha Liang has exhibited her work in several exhibitions and group shows in China, Italy and Europe.
Contemporary Matters
Contemporary Matters is a curatorial, consulting and artistic production project, based in Shanghai and Florence, specializing in Chinese contemporary art. It is a project that was born to meet a need for knowledge and use of curatorial practices in mainland China and to develop understanding around the world of artistic trends and market dynamics in China.
