MusicaLiquida

Photo © by Danila Galante, Emanuele Spanò and Francesco Piazza

"I was particularly struck by the existence of a shelter for turtles, often victims of the plastic they mistake for jellyfish, their favourite food". This is one of the reasons why the architect Rosa Vetrano, originally from Palermo, chose Favignana to install his "m u s i c a l i q u i d a", as well as for the sensitivity of the island to environmental issues.

In October, marine creatures floating in the air as if they were swimming in the sea came to life within the walls of the ex Florio factory. Their dance accompanied by the sweet sound of water brought the viewer into the marine world that concealed a strong message.

"The jellyfish symbolizes the clean sea and this is our hope", the artist says, but "marine creatures of "m u s i c a l i q u i d a" symbolize the sea that is urgent to defend against pollution caused by the enormous amount of plastic that is poured into it daily, creating considerable irreversible damage to the ecosystem ".

In fact, to make the message visible and shake consciences, jellyfish were completely made of recycled plastic coming almost exclusively from the beaches during the cleaning periods.

marine creatures floating in the air as if they were swimming in the sea came to life within the walls of the ex Florio factory. 

A multisensory installation. The marine creatures floated to the sound of liquid music, "a word borrowed from the new frontiers of high fidelity" to which the artist, however, attributed a double meaning: "loyalty and respect towards a nature so generous and at the same time a poetic invitation that leads us to listen to the sea whose sound takes the connotations of a real musical essence ».

"The goal, which I set myself - says the architect - is not just the logic of launching the message, but that the message gets accepted and through artistic manifestation this is possible, showing how the waste can reach the art and give us emotions ».

An active commitment to the environmental causes that becomes art thanks to the well-established partnership between "Rosa Vetrano’s architecture" and "The Blue Dream Project", a Canadian nonprofit organization in the forefront for the protection of the oceans, to which it was devolved part of the proceeds from the exhibition, and "COREPLA" (National Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Recovery of Plastic Packaging).

Many artistic initiatives have had as main objective "to create awareness for the protection of the environment and in particular of the seas". Among these, of great impact, is the installation "t r a M A R E" «whose title implies the shameful attitude of man to the detriment of the ecosystem». From the intense red color that dominates the scene, the exhibition "tackles the double issue that threatens the marine environment: the increase in sea temperature that causes the devastating phenomenon of coral reef bleaching and the enormous amount of plastic that it is poured into it ».

Managing to combine the "duty" and the "pleasure", Rosa Vetrano has already ideas for the realization of future projects. «An exhibition at Palazzo Bonocore in Palermo is imminent with a collaboration with COREPLA, regarding activities in schools to improve awareness; the probable participation in Manifesta, a government meeting in Canada and events in the planning phase".

Photo © by Danila Galante, Emanuele Spanò and Francesco Piazza