AEREA

AeReA is the first part of a diptych that focuses on an object which has always functioned in principle to express ideas of belonging and separation, marking the distinction between a hypothetical us and them: the flag. In constant proximity, as part of a single anatomy, humans and flags become the only propulsive motor of images. Silvery grey, the flags are cleansed of signs and symbols, brought to their plastic essence. A zero point without connotations in which everything can emerge, begin or disappear. As if belonging to a near or remote past, spectral figures take form through a score of unveilings, evoking a close and ancient brotherhood between two textile objects, flag and shroud.

The title takes two words that can be graphically overlapped and merged into a single term: Ara—AeReA. The first one, Ara, alludes to the place that in ancient times was dedicated to the sacrifice, here understood as a death-generating mechanism, inflicted as a gift on those invested with the highest power. The second term, AeReA (adj. air), indicates the physical quality of the flag, which achieves its greatest expression of power once hoisted, billowing in the air.

Ginevra Panzetti and Enrico Ticconi, based in Berlin and Torino, have been working as a duo since 2008. Their artistic research interlaces dance, performance and visual art. Deepening themes related to the historical union between communication, violence and power, they draw on ancient imaginaries, creating hybrid figures or images between history and contemporaneity. 

The presentation of the performance at ConTempo Festival is supported by the Embassy of the Italian Republic and the Italian Cultural Institute in Vilnius. These performances are an introduction to the program of events of the Italian Cultural Days in Kaunas.