Tutto

Tutto draws on Sicilian baroque traditions and updates them by revealing the complexity of the new and different cultural inputs the city of Palermo experiences today. Four embroidered drapes, display four figures of saints, originally Christian, carrying new and updated symbols. The project takes inspiration from the specifically Palermitan case in which there's a syncretic relationship between Christian and Hindu Tamil communities. Santa Rosalia, the city patron saint, and her rituals are participated by both communities. A daytime firework display, specifically designed for Quattro Canti in Palermo, blasts a series of colourful slips of paper with messages and images into the air. After the explosion all the pieces shot into the air slowly descend, dropping on the heads of the spectators, remaining partially attached to the facades of the surrounding buildings, clinging to a series of ropes connecting the buildings, and finally falling to the ground. The embroidered cloths, a selected number of paper slips and a photograph of the event are hosted in Palazzo Costantino, acting as a reminder of the celebration and becoming a collective memory for Tutto. The installation takes its cue from traditional Sicilian baroque events and engages the local residents, suggesting an official day of celebration to be added to the city’s calendar of festivities. The work focuses on the idea of celebration as a tool to describe a wider system of political, social and cultural environments.