“Water Weighs”: the final opening in Cosenza

On Monday evening, at the BOCS Museum in Cosenza, the official inauguration of the exhibition Water Weighs – Submerged Corporalities took place, marking the final stage of the MAREBOX project, co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.

The project, of which 3D Research is a partner, began about two years ago together with three other European partners: Atlantis Consulting (Greece), the University of Oslo (Norway), and Savvy Contemporary (Germany).

Through the production and display of artworks with a strong digital component, the project aims to promote a renewed and more attentive vision of Europe’s Underwater Cultural Heritage and of the current challenges concerning the sea, specifically the Mediterranean: pollution, migration routes, trawling, extinction of marine species, etc.

This goal was achieved by calling upon the potential creators of such works: artists and professionals who, following participation in a public call and careful selection by the project partners, were hosted at an Artistic Residency held in Cosenza, at BOCsArt, from June 21 to July 2, 2021.

The 20 selected artists, coming from various countries around the world and organized into 9 multidisciplinary teams, took part in the rich two-week program organized by 3D Research and Savvy Contemporary. The program included meetings with guests of diverse expertise: professionals of the sea at different levels (marine biologists, underwater archaeologists, photographers, fishermen, and fish producers, etc.), but also organizations dealing with migrant reception and integration, as well as artists and key figures of Calabrian culture.

The input from these meetings and from the Calabrian locations visited by the artists (in some cases also used as sets or cinematic subjects) flowed into an artistic research process that, in the following months, led the 9 teams to develop completed works, delivered to the partners by the end of September 2021.

As planned, the 9 works (plus a tenth, selected ad honorem to participate only in the exhibition and not in the Residency) were first displayed within the spaces of HELEXPO in Thessaloniki, Greece, under the responsibility of partner Atlantis Consulting.

In mid-October, the exhibition was inaugurated in Berlin, where it remained open for about fifteen days at the wonderful space of Savvy Contemporary and under the curatorship of its staff.

Finally, the exhibition moved to Cosenza, in the aforementioned spaces of the BOCS Museum, thanks to the concession of the Municipality and Director Marilena Cerzoso. Curated by the staff of 3D Research with the support of Binta Diaw (Savvy Contemporary), it will remain open to the public until the end of April 2022.

At Monday’s opening event, in addition to the entire 3D Research team and Dr. Cerzoso, were also present City Councilor Alessandra Cozza and Municipal Delegate for the Historic Center, Francesco Alimena.

Both representatives recalled the importance of addressing the theme of the sea and the current challenges connected to it, especially in a region like ours, so deeply tied to and dependent on the sea. They also stressed the importance of strengthening the connection between the Municipal administration and cultural initiatives in the area, highlighting how BOCsArt represents a valuable resource in the challenge of keeping the city and the entire region open to international projects such as MAREBOX.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, all attendees were invited (in groups) to take part in a guided tour of the exhibition, being the first to experience the installations.

Each of the 10 exhibited works tackles the project’s theme in an original way, combining various artistic techniques with technological solutions, such as Virtual Reality experiences that the artists were able to develop thanks to the contribution of 3D Research.

Some of the works clearly reflect the experience of the June Residency, incorporating voice recordings of individuals met during that time, terrestrial or underwater video footage filmed on the Calabrian coasts, objects collected during the various excursions, or even materials created during that period.

Overall, the exhibition presents itself as a collection of suggestions made up of carefully composed images, sounds, colors, physicality, and forms that invite the visitor to reflect, through each work, on the meaning of their own existence as a sentient being and on their relationship with the sea; a visceral, ancient relationship—sometimes tragically physical and violent, sometimes friendly and almost intimate.

A meeting with the sea and with one’s own conscience, a reflection we hope will reach the widest possible audience, especially schools and younger generations, who are already acutely aware of the environmental, historical, and social challenges that await us in the near future.

The exhibition will remain open throughout the holiday season, except on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; admission is free, with the additional option of guided tours in the afternoon. Special openings with guided tours will take place on January 6–9.

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ARTISTS: Jamie Allen, Louise Carver & Abbéy Odunlami, Myriam Amri & Margaux Fitoussi, Johanna Blees, Tim Huys & Simone Kessler, Susan Blight, Moira Hille & Jade Nixon, Elizabeth Gallón Droste & Daniela Medina Poch, Ifor Duncan, Miriam Gatt, Judith Gatt & Kyriakos Costa, Marque Gilmore, Senait Imbaye, Ibrahima Ley, Kayo Mpoyi & Roberto Noel, Marco Montiel-Soto & Misael Morales Vargas, Lara Tabet.

EXHIBITION CURATED BY 3D RESEARCH SRL:

Curatorship: Paola Di Cuia, with the support of Binta Diaw
Art Direction, Texts, Graphics: Paola Di Cuia
Booklet Text Translation: Stefano Bruno
Booklet Photos: Savvy Contemporary
Executive Design: Felix Manfredi
Set Up: Felix Manfredi, Fabrizio Fuoco, Andrea De Rosa, with the support of Vincenzo Cosentino, Raffaele Peluso, Emanuele Marino, Giovanni Menniti, Emiliano Scalercio, Benedetta Pezzaniti
Institutional Communication: Saverino De Leo, Giovanni Menniti
Project Management: Marco Cozza
Project Contact: Fabio Bruno
Location: with the support and concession of Marilena Cerzoso
Reference for Cultural Heritage and Activities – Museums – Libraries – Performing Arts – Theaters: Annarita Callari
Special Thanks for Support: Rita Adamo and La Rivoluzione delle Seppie

Water Weighs is part of the MAREBOX project, co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union and carried out by 3D Research in collaboration with Atlantis Consulting (project leader, Greece), Savvy Contemporary (Germany), and the University of Oslo (Norway).

For more information, visit https://www.marebox.eu/blog/.