SUPERATTICO ︎
Reflecting on the faithful presence of anonymous mass-produced design in our everyday lives, ANONIMA PLASTICA draws from our ordinary imaginary to reconstruct an intimate collective scenography using ready-made objects.
The starting point of the work is the photographic research carried out in Lebanon, between 2018 and 2019, on the consistent appearance of white plastic chairs in the region, found in the most various contexts and unexpected settings. Through a wide selection of images, the research aims to translate the complexity of the Lebanese landscape and the coexistence of historical and modern ruins,where the plastic chair plays the role of a narrative device and a witness. This ubiquitous object embodies simultaneously the history of the industrial design’s global market (producing specimens that can be printed in 90 seconds out of 2.5 kg of plastic material, replicated over and over from Spain to India) and the collective knowledge through which communities adapt and appropriate space through the objects they can afford.
The ready-made scenography realised site-specifically for SUPERATTICO showcases the pictures on different media and in turn anonymous objects. ANONIMA PLASTICA is an-going collaborative project by Giovanni E.Galanello and Francesca Gotti, with the contribution of Rana Rmeily and Wassim Melki.
The exhibition was activated by a series of events: talks, happenings, and concerts.
Among the talks a talk on Anonymous Design between Beirut and Rio De Janeiro.
The talk was mainly probing the presence of anonymous objects in a city scape and their transformation leading us to question and examine what makes a city comfortable, accessible, and welcoming.
It also elaborated on how anonymous design is open-ended, ever-changing, responding to the needs and whims of those who use it.
To create comfortable cities we need to allow for anonymous objects to showcase the Informal beauty that make up our cities.
Examples included Varanda Products, a joint initiative by the MAS Urban Design of ETH Zurich and RUA Arquitetos, Rio de Janeiro, for the Uneven Growth exhibition at MoMA New York.
Making Heimat. Germany, Arrival Country architecture pavilion as part of the Venice biennale 2016 curated by Superattico.
Terrace by Omar Fakhoury and Christian Zahr a site-specific intervention commissioned by TAP Lebanon.
The Lebanese uprising and subsequent graffiti, as well as a study of several anonymous objects across the Lebanese city scape, part of an ongoing research project undertaken by Rana Rmeily.
The full talk was a real time visual performance (Vjing) by Rana Rmeily.
Pullouts Below:
Installation curation, concept, development, and realisation by Francesca Gotti and Giovanni Emilio Galanello
Lecture Rana Rmeily, Something Fantastic
Space Superattico
Pictures by Francesca Gotti, Rana Rmeily