DUSKMANN | Palermo
June 15th 2018 – Nov 4th 2018
DUSKMANN Prelude
site specific installation by DUSKMANN
Chiesa della Madonna della Mazza, Palermo, Italy
The DUSKMANN collective’s project for Manifesta12 offers Palermo a surprise, allowing the city to rediscover a forgotten place and creating an interactive installation between public and art.
From the 15th of June to the 4th of November, from 6 pm to midnight
Chiesa della Madonna della Mazza, via Maqueda n° 387
In one of Palermo’s busiest streets – Via Maqueda, adjacent to Palazzo Mazzarino, one of Manifesta’s key locations – the DUSKMANN collective presents its work in the church of Santa Maria del Soccorso, also known as “della Mazza”, creating a custom- designed installation for a space which has been closed to the public for four decades and which, thanks to the biennial, can now be rediscovered.
The church thus becomes a place where the city makes contact and fuses with contemporary art.
With the patronage of the City of Palermo, of Palermo City of Culture, European Year of Cultural Heritage and the Curia, with the installation Prelude, DUSKMANN create a unique and powerful harmony between history and the most modern and contemporary artistic expression.
The interaction between the public and the work is of an intimate, silent nature.
At the vestibule door, a large black panel precents access to the church. Three octagonal openings set at various heights allow visitors to see the interior, which is in darkness: only by inserting a coin can they illuminate it for a few seconds. Awaiting them is an explosion of light which reveals a new and previously-unseen composition of Prelude. This time, in fact, DUSKMANN’s great gem – a red jasper in the shape of a heart – is surrounded by 6 of the white versions of the 41 pieces which make up the series. A choice dictated by the desire to harmonize the infinite geometries of the pieces with the surrounding environment, thus highlighting the imposing power of the central stone.
On one hand, the project draws upon the curiosity of passers-by at seeing a place which has been closed for years finally open, and on the other closes the circle of Prelude’s creative process, which first began here and which now has the opportunity to bring back new energy.
“We wanted to use opportunity of Manifesta to bring Prelude back to where the installation was originally conceived. It’s an honour for us to reopen this church, which had been closed for decades, to the city and to encourage the local people to interact with our art.”