“What remains after the swell”, Sperone – Palermo 2023
Fratel Biagio was and is a pilgrim and once back to Palermo he realized that the path that he was meant to walk did not lead much further than his neighbour, to whom he dedicated his entire life.
Below the wall I have painted there is a cross, which was built by Biagio when he began his mission, because he thought this place needed care.
I wonder how much this place has changed in the past thirty years, since he has built that cross. Have the public authorities taken care of this place since?
Today we are still here with Biagio Conte, on a pilgrimage, focusing our attention on this neighbourhood, claiming that it needs everyone’s attention but that if those who have the duty to take care of it fail to do it, it will be all in vain.
This wall is not just a commemoration, but a loud accusation: when painting Biagio, we want to report the fact that this place needs our attention, in the same way he did with his fasts. It is a political and spiritual act claiming beauty and care for a neighbourhood and its inhabitants. Together with Biagio, we side with the unseen, the outcast, the outsiders.
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