Memorie dell'altro ieri, memorie di dopodomani

The installation consists of a vintage table with four chairs, covered in white and light blue Formica, with metal legs and a wooden frame.
This classic table, a family heirloom, was once found in kitchens, where “crowded” families gathered daily to eat and share their thoughts, marking the beginning and end of each day, day after day.
The overall dimensions are approximately 2.15 x 2 m, and it is necessary to be able to move around it with ease.
Arranged on the tabletop are 10 “figures,” monochromatic white, of identical features and dimensions (approximately 21x10 cm). These figures are neither male nor female; they lack expression or movement, yet they represent a human presence, serving as both supports and guardians of memory.
Placed on top of their heads are “memory cards” containing photo files. The first 10 are historical, mostly vintage, photos of families, school classes, portraits of ordinary people or historically known figures, grainy black-and-white images taken from family albums and beyond—stories of Jewish families, accounts and images found on the web, or on search engines, archives, and social media profiles. Images predating the genocidal disaster of the Holocaust.
Next, an almost black photo of me, a dark, grainy image depicting me with an imperceptible smirk of disdain and disapproval. This photo serves as a “watershed” between the black-and-white “before” photos and the color “after” ones.
The other ten images represent the contemporary era, images that tell of the present and the future, photographs that speak of a rebirth, forward-looking values, and the fruits of overcoming adversity.
The desk drawer is open and contains a digital screen (25x18.5 cm); the screen is used to display the photos.
“The viewer” interacts with the work by removing the memory cards from the heads and inserting them into the designated slot on the screen, thereby viewing the character’s memories.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS: APPROX. 2.15 x 2 x 1.5
COMPONENTS:
1 TABLE
4 CHAIRS
10 FIGURES
10 MEMORY CARDS
1 DIGITAL SCREEN

Exhibited in:
2011 Acthung! Achtung! – SPAZIO EX GIL, curated by Barbara Collevecchio and Micol Di Veroli, Rome