“Summer Oracle”, performance by Elisabetta Sbiroli
Evening after evening, the balcony exhibition “The morning has Lory in its mouth”conceived and curated by the Bitonto native Francis Paul of the KingThat from August 28th to September 1st occupies the balconies of the Madonnella district of Bariall’intersection between Dalmazia Street and Spalato Streetis enriched with live events that transform it into a large street party offered free of charge to passers-by. And so, after the performances of Sabino de Nichilo, Ivana Pia Lorusso and ‘Ndrame (Annarita Gaudiomonte) and after the happening of Poesia in Azione and the street silkscreening of Mario Nardulli, this evening at 9pm Elisabetta Sbiroli brings the performance to life “Summer Oracle”with music by Aurora Lacirignola and sound by Massimo Bonuccelli.
It all starts from Audre Lorde’s poem. “Already in the incipit of the poem – explains Elisabetta Sbiroli – I am struck by the statement that we cannot give up hope, that we cannot remain condemned to a vision of perpetual horror, unless we give up what makes us human, at the mercy of the incomprehensible chaos of the present or devoted to nostalgia for a past that has escaped forever. Then I find it extraordinary that love is spoken of not in a consolatory or compassionate way, but as an act of disobedience to the prevailing order, which is that of desperation. But who pronounces the prophecy? What does this Oracle look like? The image that I have gradually come into focus is that of an ambiguous figure, a magician or a witch. In any case, someone who does not claim to have a monopoly on the truth. Six gold coins, the wages of a traitor, are hidden in the cloak that envelops him, covered with strange symbols. The old sorcerers steer clear because, unlike them, this uncomfortable figure does not provide recipes for the elixir of long life. She remains lucid and disconsolate in the face of the state of the world. The poet also tells us that the Oracle burns in the fire made with the remains of the harvest we left behind. She has a “narrow, difficult, essential” body, under her cloak of lies, now that the air itself, around her, is made of coal.
«Last spring, when I was working on the work “Coal” – continues Sbiroli – I met Aurora Lacirignola, who is interested in acousmatics and concrete music. Aurora began to record the sound of my footsteps on the work placed on the ground, first barefoot, then with various types of footwear. She captured the sound of my fingers brushing the paper, that of my nails scratching the surface, then the blows of my hands and of my entire body exploring different possibilities of contact. We also experimented with wooden, plastic and metal sticks and recorded my voice reading Audre Lorde’s poetry. While the sound creation was proceeding, I developed a choreographic score of rhythmic accelerations or decelerations in the movement in different parts of the body. The monstrous costume of the Oracle took shape with the assembly of fragments of female and male bodies, starting from the work/ossuary “Coal”».
The performance is a re-adaptation of the one presented in May at the Chiostro delle Clarisse in Noci. «After the first presentation inside a protected space – says the artist – I wanted to take the action outside to confront the reality of the street. It is not the first time that I attempt an experience of this kind. I have often worked both in France and in Italy with human-sized puppets in anomalous contexts, where stage conventions were abolished and in sometimes hostile situations. But I find the reaction of the people I meet surprising every time, people who perhaps would never show up in the space of a gallery or a theater. There can certainly be indifference, contempt, but most of the time, instead, amazement and sincere curiosity. I am tired of the rituals for an audience of initiates, to which the exercise of artistic practice is often reduced today. I would like to rejoin the world, use my research, and the questions that accompany it, within the society where I live, now».
Made with the organizational support of Loredana Savino and Matteo De Napolithe exhibition “The morning has Lory in its mouth” sees the works of 43 artists: Natascia Abbattista, Mariantonietta Bagliato, Michele Bellini, Ado Brandimarte, Angela Capotorto, Pierluca Cetera, Guido Corazziari, Daniela Corbascio, Giulia Cotterli, Dario D’Introno, Valentina De Florio, Cristiano De Gaetano with Giordano De Gaetano, Sabino de Nichilo, Stefania Fabrizi, Elisa Filomena, Francesco Paolo Gassi, Simona Anna Gentile, Carlos Hevia Riera, Ferencz Kilian, Biagio Lieti, Ivana Pia Lorusso, Angela Marzullo, Pierpaolo Miccolis, Antonio Milano, Ezia Mitolo, Dario Nanì, ‘Ndrame (Annarita Gaudiomonte), Alessandro Passaro, Pippo Patruno, Stefania Pellegrini, Patrizia Piarulli, Maurizio Pometti, Fabrizio Riccardi, Michela Rondinone, Giuseppe Rossetti, Ester Santovito, Marco Saracino, Elisabetta Sbiroli, Danilo Sciorilli, Davide Serpetti, Donato Found, Claudio Zorzi. In addition to the exhibition of paintings, photographs, textile works, sculptures, installations and ephemeral interventions, the real big news of the 2024 edition compared to previous years And a calendar of performances and events that enliven the crossroads every eveningtransforming the exhibition into a permanent festive occasion that can bring together the entire community.