Natura quasi trasparente, Elisabetta Di Maggio

“I don’t know how long we spent walking through the Museum together, contemplating it, studying it, and trying to understand where would be the best place to intervene amongst the ‘hubbub’ of the historical works. Elisabetta Di Maggio has tried to make space and create passages she can infiltrate; she has concentrated on identifying openings through which she can penetrate the stratification of the solidified memory of the home/museum in a new way. This is how the installation Natura quasi trasparente [Almost Transparent Nature] came about. The artist has allowed ivy plants to invade the central salon of the palace, making the time that has passed visible through her action. By the time climbing plants have penetrated the interior of a place, it means that its inhabitants have abandoned it, leaving it at the mercy of nature and time. And precisely because we are dealing with a museum, a place in which the objects and works have been frozen (preserved) for centuries, the surprise and vitality of this natural invasion is even stronger. The power and exuberance of a living and germinating element transforms the crystallised space, endowing it with the possibility of unexpected meaning and new significant directions.” – Chiara Bertola