SANS SAINT MICHELE
by NICOLA ROTIROTI
Nicola Rotiroti’s project stems from the suggestion of a Jewish tale about a man shipwrecked on a distant island. He first searches for a place with a source of drinkable water, next he builds a hut where he can take shelter, and finally he finds a way to hunt and cultivate the land. Once these initial needs have been met, the castaway begins to pose the problem that he has not yet found a place to pray and thus be able to come into direct contact with his spirit. At this point, the man begins to wander the island and having stopped at a place he thinks suitable, he undertakes the construction of the sacred place, of his temple. Having finished the work, he begins to attend it and bring the place to life with his own prayers. However, he realizes that something is still missing. Falling into the deepest loneliness and also feeling the sense of failure, he then realizes that he must build another sacred place. A sacred place within him but, at the same time, outside him.
In this sense, the artist’s work for Seminaria Sogninterra is centered on the idea that worship, sacredness, and the state of immanence and transcendence belong to the human being and the relationship with the landscape in which he is configured. It is in this way that Sans Saint Michael attempts to pay homage to the figure of St. Michael in a secular way, through an invitation to the contemplation of something that has always existed: the landscape that welcomes the country and that the Saint himself chose as his temple.
The artist identifies two places: a small cellar/cappella in the heart of the village where to place a triptych composed of two photographs and an oil painting, depicting a view of the sky, the sea and the land, located on the upper slope of the village in Via Sorgenza. Here the artist will insert a linoleum outline that will occlude the landscape, as if to highlight a void, a permanent absence, almost invisible thanks to its gray color.
The connection between the inside and the outside is reinforced by the artist’s invitation to take a contemplative walk on Sunday, September 19, from the cellar (where the triptych is placed) on Santa Maria dei Guglielmi Street to the chosen site on Sorgenza Street (where the linoleum silhouette is located).
The invitation is extended to everyone, to those named Michele, Michela, Michelangelo, Michelantonio but also to Giovanna and Pasquale, to Maranolese but also to tourists and all those who would like to take part in the event.
Subsequently, the silhouette will be placed within the village through a process of “public appropriation” that the artist will establish with all those who take part in the realization of the project.
INFO
Location: Via Santa Maria dei Guglielmi / Via Sorgenza
Hours: every Saturday and Sunday from September 18 to September 26 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
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