Mircea Cantor: Born to be burnt

GAMeC presents the first solo show devoted to Mircea Cantor by an Italian museum. The exhibition is part of the programming of Eldorado, the project room targeting the most interesting international representatives of the younger generations.

This solo exhibition is composed of three specially commissioned works. They get the public involved and subtly alter their perception of the museum space, playing on their expectations and the entrenched habits of cultural consumption.

At the entrance to the gallery, the spectator is welcomed by The Neworker (2006), an installation that suggests how the concept of labour evokes infinite possibilities and potential actions for human beings. At the same time, however, it also implies that this concept has become so central to the development and affirmation of the individual that, in space, it is transformed into a new form of religion and “collective devotion”.

The entire architecture of the museum is literally invaded by Born to be burnt (2006), after which the exhibition has been named. This work examines the possibility of perceiving space through senses other than sight. This work also reflects on the way the concepts of spirituality and religiosity have now converged into the various spheres of our daily experience, from commerce to cultural consumption. Energia (2006) is the third work on display. It is an installation composed of 33 bottles of Italians brands famous around the world, from mineral water to spirits and wines, which have been filled with milk. By replacing the contents of all the bottles with the first source of nourishment of all human beings the moment they are born, the artist suggests that it is necessary to turn to a person’s most intimate and interior dimension in order to find the strength to transform reality.

With the utmost economy of expressive media, all the works in the exhibition question the very concept of museum display and suggest a poetic path to possible ethical renewal.

Pressetext

Mircea Cantor: Born to be burnt
part of the cycle of Eldorado
Kurator: Alessandro Rabottini