Allegra Sardelli

In our view, talking about perennial topicality means talking about our perception of time, history, and human interactions. As we considered this project a collective debate, we’d like to hear more about your ideas as well. What is your perception of perennial topicality? And which element of this idea do you think that the artwork that you presented wants to portray? 

For me, perennial topicality is something that exists in our present and has always been there, in this particular case in relation to humanity and our relationship with the world, with other individuals and with ourselves. I, therefore, thought that art, understood both as a creative act and as a means of communication and expiation, encapsulates all these characteristics. The need to create art can arise from dissatisfaction inherent in the real world. When certain needs and desires cannot be conveniently satisfied in reality, then the need arises to find another way to satisfy them. Art actually serves very little for our material survival, yet we desperately need it because it is a humanistic necessity, it elevates our spirit. It is vital that our inner self is also nourished. In this regard, my work consists of a series of 16 square bases measuring 20×20 cm arranged to form a larger square. On them, I have reproduced 16 artistic-pictorial techniques among the most used by man throughout history to create art, from before Christ to the present day. The techniques used are: mosaic, fresco, dry, oil on canvas, oil on panel, tempera on panel, tempera on canvas, tempera on panel, acrylic on paper, acrylic on canvas, ink on paper, watercolour on paper, chalk on paper, oil pastel on paper, digital print on paper, acrylic spray paint on wood. All techniques are done in solid ultramarine blue. For the creation of the oil, tempera, fresco, dry and watercolour paintings, I started from the pigment, which combined with the different binders gave rise to the colours. I chose ultramarine blue because it symbolises spirituality and because this type of blue in particular can be found in the deeper dimension of the sea. The deeper the blue, the more it recalls the idea of infinity, in the same way as the square module, which with its vertices, midpoints and centre allows easy fragmentation into similar figures with elegant and infinite progressions.

We are all the sum of our experiences, which shape our personality and perception. How did your personal history affect the creation of your artworks and in what way did you bring it into your project? 

It is my experience and especially my everyday life that usually shapes my projects. I focus on paying attention to the actual beauty, both aesthetic and ethical, of what we usually take for granted in appearance. At this moment in history, almost everything has already been tried and discovered, especially in the field of art, so I often feel the need to remove more than add, slow down more than speed up, in order to appreciate simplicity. I often tend to want to go back to the origin of every subject I deal with. The theme of perennial topicality made me think of something that has always been part of mankind, and after careful reflection on myself and my own journey, I deduced that the innate need to make art is a unique aspect of being human.

Due to the centrality of technology as well as the redefinition of our personal space, in these pandemic times the intimacy and the lack of it are now not only lived but conceived differently. How would you describe your perception of intimacy, relationships, and connection today?

I believe that the isolation resulting from the pandemic and technology as the main means of communication have led us to recognise to which people we are more connected and which interactions are less relevant. The extreme use of technology has also led to a virtual globalisation, a space where it is possible to come across contacts and content from anywhere, this has led us to be physically alone, but at the same time connected to the whole world (and especially to our closest loved ones), therefore spiritually bonded in having the possibility to share and document any thought or event in our lives. In this way, the use of virtual space can also be seen as another dimension to escape from reality and the problems caused by the constraints of the pandemic situation.

What do you expect from the audience’s experience after viewing your work in this digital environment? How do you think that our endless consumption of digital contents is affecting the production and the fruition of artworks? Do you think the virtual exhibition experience will continue to be a possible tool for presenting your research?

Obviously, I would hope for a positive reaction. I think that the enjoyment would be much greater if the works were accessible from life, especially if they are sculptures, installations, or any other type of work where the structural base on which it rests is also important (hence the thickness) or even the treatment and rendering of the surface as in my case. On the other hand, virtual exhibitions make everything more accessible to a wider audience, as the distance limit for many people is reduced, and they also allow full enjoyment of digital art and the video format that is often used as a documentation of performance art. Considering this, it would be ideal in the future to be able to access any kind of exhibition both in presence and virtually.