Duo Bianco-Valente, selected by curator Benedetta Carpi De Resmini, created a public and diffuse work on the territory of Herculaneum as part of the urban regeneration project Connecting Code, winner of the Creative Living Lab V 2023 call for proposals of the General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture.
The main objective of Connecting Code was to create site-specific artistic interventions through the active participation of the entire city community with an inclusive approach at every stage of the creative process.
Curator Carpi De Resmini: “We immediately shared the choice of working on connections. The image that immediately emerged in my eyes was the work My Generation: an expression of the link that the artists perceived, of the people with the territory. Herculaneum has deep roots that emerge on the surface, somewhat like a rhizome defined as a perennial stem, prostrate and mostly underground. The artists created these connections through the solicitation of individual participants, resulting in the construction of 3 works, each with its own specificity”.
Bianco-Valente: “After the first inspection exactly one year ago, we started working in Herculaneum in September 2023, and we imagined that we would have to initiate interactions with tougher people, who were a bit lost behind the narrow contingencies of everyday life. Instead, we were very surprised to discover that there is a wide margin of gentleness in people there, especially in the younger generations, but not exclusively in these. Active shopkeepers, visual artists, young entrepreneurs ready to act as music producers, artisans who smile and have light in their eyes as they talk to you about the mission they have given themselves: to produce beauty. After a few episodes in Herculaneum, it seemed that the tough ones, the short-eyed ones running behind the daily grind, were us! So we decided to follow the energy flows emanating from people, we listened to stories, we tried to read looks, gestures, body postures, we looked at both the finger and the moon”.
The three works created are linked by a single thread: QR Codes. Each code, activated with one’s own device, refers to the voices of the Herculaneum inhabitants who participated in the numerous workshops in the city.
The first of these works, located in the area of the second market cross also called ‘A Ruana (MAV), is a mosaic, reminiscent of the ancient walls and floors of the Archaeological Park and the tondo of the façade of the Basilica of Pugliano. What makes this work unique is its material: everyday use ceramics such as plates, glasses and cups provided directly by the inhabitants of Herculaneum, which will surround the large central knot, made of stone tesserae. The mosaic is inspired by both the knot patterns made during the workshops and the mosaics in the Archaeological Park. The pattern that frames the large central knot is inspired by second-hand clothes from the famous Resina second-hand market.
The fabric fantasy returns in the second work, a large QR code located in the heart of the Resina Vintage Market. This code will refer to an iconic photograph taken inside the Warehouse Vintage Store, portraying the movement of selecting and checking clothes and drawing inspiration from the typical local tradition of the selling trade, passed down through generations.
Finally, in the Piazza Carlo di Borbone in Via Mare, there is an installation inspired by one of the votive images of the Madonna dell’Arco, surrounded by knots that Bianco-Valente have captured as a metaphor for connection. In the square tiles, the artists portray the outline of the action of people’s hands in the act of tying knots. The various workshop participants, divided into pairs, were in fact invited to tie a knot together, using their ‘second’ hand.
The three works, therefore, linked together by the common denominator of the ‘interconnections’ activated during the development of the project, represent the identities and aspirations of the city, showing the many facets of Herculaneum: not only the cradle of archaeology, but a contemporary city with religious beliefs and popular traditions.
The final event of Connecting Code was held on Friday 20 September in Piazza Carlo di Borbone, a new public space overlooking the archaeological park and the Gulf of Naples, reconnecting the ancient city and the modern city. An urban regeneration project begun in 2023 and realised thanks to the partnership between the Municipality of Herculaneum, the Ministry of Culture – Herculaneum Archaeological Park and the Packard Humanities Institute – Packard Cultural Heritage Institute. The artists walked through the three sites involved in the project, offering the public the opportunity to discover the permanent installations by Bianco – Valente and to participate in moments of reflection and dialogue on culture and urban identity.
(from the press release)
Bianco Valente. Connecting Code, Bendetta Carpi De Resmini, Ercolano (Italy), 2024
Connecting Code is a project by Variabile K, realised in collaboration with CAP – Cities Art Projects, curated by Benedetta Carpi De Resmini, with the financial support of the Packard Institute for Cultural Heritage and the involvement of the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, the Cives Foundation MAV Museum, La Locanda di Emmaus ODV, Seme di Pace, and the patronage of the Municipality of Herculaneum.
images (cover 1-2-3) Bianco-Valente, «Connecting Code», 2024 ph © Bianco-Valente (4)Connecting Code, ph © CAP – Cities Art Projects (5) Bianco-Valente, «Con Tatto», 2024, mosaic with marble tesserae, Panto Street, Herculaneum, mosaicist Federica Castro (6) Bianco-Valente, «Seconda Mano,Seconda Mano», 2024, Carlo di Borbone Plaza, Herculaneum
