Duhen drut të bëhet zjarri - We need firewood to make a fire

Ujët, dheu, zjarri - Water, earth, fire

2024, video installation, Spazio Arberia, Pallagorio (KR), Italy

The title “Duhen drut të bëhet zjarri - We need firewood to make a fire” introduces a video installation that explores themes related to the culture and identity of the Arbëreshë community of Pallagorio. Through three videos, the installation addresses the issues of depopulation, cultural drought, and the potential loss of both tangible and intangible heritage of this ancient community. The videos present three symbolic landscapes: fire, earth, and water, which serve as the backdrop for ritual representations typical of Arbëreshë culture, including dance, song, and the sound of bells. These cultural expressions, which traditionally reflect the vitality and cohesion of the community, are presented in a state of progressive disintegration. The *ballo della vagha*, a collective dance symbolizing unity, gradually dissolves into a solitary dance. This is emblematic of a community that, despite its resistance, is crumbling. Similarly, the ancient funeral song *Asteriòni*, which was once choral, reduces to a single voice. Finally, Pietro, the bell ringer, continues to ring the bells every day to keep alive the memory of his people who, “when spread over mountains and plains,” reminds the children of Pallagorio, wherever they may be, of their deep connection to their homeland.

Era - The wind

2024, performance, Pallagorio (KR), Italy

Many authors in the past have condemned the thirst for the new; many works have predicted the storm that will come. Today, the storm has arrived and perhaps even passed. We are left with the rubble, the remnants of a past that appears archaic to us. Anger has transformed into resignation among the new generations. Taking the past back into our hands has become the mission of the few, those who decide to desire a future with their past. The work takes the form of a relational device. The necessity has been to construct a dialogue among the inhabitants themselves, between those who are present and those who are elsewhere. This impossibility of being present becomes the raw material of the project. We have collected letters from those who are outside and those who are inside. These thoughts will be read publicly by some members of the community in front of everyone. The work uses biographical fragments to reach a common sense, a feeling from the underground. To make visible the cracks from this earthquake. A sheet on the ground is marked by the years of those who have been outside. The sheet is marked with charred wood from the fires in this region. The fire has become part of the landscape, its black scars visible on the mountains. We use the remnants of this fire to leave a mark.

Ujët, dheu, zjarri - Water, earth, fire, video installation

Era - Il vento, performance