The Galleria Umberto Di Marino is pleased to present, the solo show by Runo Lagomarsino entitled Ears go deeper than eyes can see on Wednesday June 11, 2014.

The remote or recent past, or rather, the ways in which it has been represented, challenged, rejected and renamed. and the way historical processes are able to influence current socio-political forms, is the framework for the research by the Swedish artist, originally from Argentina. Lagomarsino’s work involves a search for fractures, different or misunderstood narratives which can help to dismantle traditional forms of knowledge, making it possible to read the past and visualise the future from other standpoints.

In the work that also gives name to the exhibition, Ears go deeper than eyes can see, a series of handcrafted ceramics are arranged on sheets of of cardboard. These small objects, created after the personal discovery of pottery shards on the beaches of Mauritius, have an ambiguous existence. On the one hand, they refer to the criteria used for scientific cataloguing required for the display of archaeological finds. On the other hand, they emphasise the fragility of their forms created by the pressure of the human hand pressed against the malleable material.

In the same room, two piles of posters offer a comparative insight into different phases of conquest of Latin America by the western world: an illustration from the book entitled The First New Chronicle and Good Government (1612-1616) by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayalas (one of the key texts for reconstructing Inca culture) and a drawing by Mathias Goeritz, author of an important discussion of Modernism in Latin America published in the Manifesto of Emotional Architecture (1953).

Runo Lagomarsino painstaking investigation of colonialism and the surrounding historical debate therefore implies a point of view as a crucial ideological premise for the dominance of one culture over another. The sense of belonging to a specific community plays a decisive role in relation to the narrative of events and their significance for imagining a possible future.

This is the perspective from which the artist explores the definition of each supposed "colonial identity" at different latitudes in order to offer multiple viewpoints. He also adopts a critical stance towards the languages traditionally used by artists and theorists to describe colonialism.

In the second room, a detail of a turreted tower has been repeatedly printed on the walls, creating endless long barrier.

A stamp brings to mind the border controls of passports and visas – an official form of governmental authorisation (the stamp is a fragment of the coat of arms of the city of Naples) -. above which a series of blue Sun drawings have been hung. The idea of travel as a "political space" has often led to a reconsideration of reference points, just as migrations constantly modify personal identities in unexpected directions. The drawings are the result of the simple action of exposing each sheet of paper to Mediterranean sunlight, dipping them into the sea in an attempt trying to give voice to the secrets of the thousands of stories contained within them.

In the work For the ghosts and the raving poets, a light bulb lies on the floor, ready to be hung up and lit when the gallery is closed.. It is a light that visitors will never see, shining as a small symbolic presence in memory of these ghosts.

In the end, Following the Light of the Sun, I Only Discovered the Ground emphasises the power dynamics related to cultural and historical judgments. The piece is a slide projection based on photographs retrieved from the archive of Zurab Tsereteli, - a Georgian-Russian artist commissioned to build the tallest sculpture in the world to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ voyage of “discovery”. The statue has never been completely assembled because it was continuously rejected by several American institutions. Its constituent parts have been moved around for over twenty years before finding a permanent display location in Puerto Rico where the statue is currently being assembled. The images are accompanied by the Russian national anthem, creating possible misunderstandings that accentuate the idea of displacement and the arbitrary nature of history writing.

Umberto Di Marino Gallery

Via Alabardieri, 1
Naples 80121 Italy
Ph. +39 081 0609318
umberto.dimarino@fastwebnet.it
www.galleriaumbertodimarino.com

Opening hours

Monday - Saturday from 3pm to 8pm
Morning by appointment

Related images
  1. Runo Lagomarsino, La Muralla Azul, 2014, timbro su parete, 5 fogli Sunprint esposti alla luce, sole e acqua del Mediterraneo, installazione, dimensioni variabili, Courtesy Galleria Umberto Di Marino, Napoli, Italy, foto Danilo Donzelli
  2. Runo Lagomarsino, Following the Light of the Sun, I Only Discovered the Ground, 2012 -2014, diaproiezione, sonoro: Inno Russo in versione strumentale e francobollo, dimensioni variabili. Courtesy Galleria Umberto Di Marino, Napoli, Italy, foto Danilo Donzelli
  3. Runo Lagomarsino, Ears go deeper than eyes can see, 2014, veduta della mostra, Courtesy Galleria Umberto Di Marino, Napoli, Italy, foto Danilo Donzelli
  4. Runo Lagomarsino, Ears go deeper than eyes can see, 2012-2013, dettaglio, ceramica grezza, cartone, nastro adesivo, tavolo in legno e cavalletti di metallo, cm 72 x 125 x 160, Courtesy Galleria Umberto Di Marino, Napoli, Italy, foto Danilo Donzelli
  5. Runo Lagomarsino, For the ghosts and the raving poets, 2013, cavo, lampadina, dimensioni variabili Courtesy Galleria Umberto Di Marino, Napoli, Italy, foto Danilo Donzelli
  6. Runo Lagomarsino, One side and the other, 2014, pila di posters stampati fronte-retro, cm 50x 60 Courtesy Galleria Umberto Di Marino, Napoli, Italy, foto Danilo Donzelli