Other Winds - Ostro

null, Bruna Esposito, Giulia Lamoni, Giovanbattista Tusa (Univerdade Nova de Lisboa)

The Italian Cultural Institute of Lisbon, in collaboration with Cultural Associations Mantellate – Studio Stefania Miscetti and the Carpintarias de São Lázaro, welcomes on 16th May the artist Bruna Esposito for the presentation of the project ‘Altri Venti – Ostro’, that has been selected among the winners of the 9th edition of Italian Council 2020 – a program to promote Italian contemporary art in the world by the Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture.

The artist, in dialogue with Giulia Lamoni, researcher and independent curator at the Institute of Art History of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and with Giovanbattista Tusa, philosopher and researcher in Contemporary Ecologies at the Institute of Philosophy of the same University, presents the installation “Altri Venti – Ostro”, consisting of a gazebo made of natural materials such as bamboo canes and rope: the welcoming space is warmed by the breeze created by a solar-powered ceiling fan, and also features several ship propellers (a recurring motif in Esposito’s work).

The work is borne out of a synergy of various areas of research, bringing to life the artist’s vision – and increasingly explicit conviction – that only to eliminate the distances between people and the tools used to improve the standard of living, we can imagine a radical change of direction in favor of a more ecological approach. In this way, we will stop the excessive use of consumer goods, for example, the conditioning of air.

The work is presented as a device aiming to reinvigorate the space, imbuing it with new, possible relationships, reflections, and meanings. At a time when the subject of “meeting” is as topical as ever, the artist offers us a space to rest, a break that becomes an encounter. Ostro is a political and poetic exhortation: an invitation to take stock of the impact of our actions and consider the inevitability of other choices, as well as the power of simplicity; it is an ode to ancient, frugal alternatives.