VIAGGIO IN SICILIA #7. Maps & Myths of the Mediterranean

 Seventh edition of Planeta’s project for Art and Territory:

VIAGGIO IN SICILIA #7

Maps & Myths of the Mediterranean

curated by Valentina Bruschi

nomadic artist residency
from the 2nd to the 11th September 2016

The 7th edition of the project for Art Territory conceived and produced by Planeta, VIAGGIO IN SICILIA, returns in September 2016 and this year the title is Maps and Myths of the Mediterranean, curated by Valentina Bruschi.
Six Italian and foreign artists of the same generation, meet and engage with the Sicilian territory in an artist’s traveling residency, from the 2nd to the 11th of September 2016. In the months following the trip, through different media, from painting to sculpture, photographic installations and video, the participants will realize works that will be exhibited in a group show in Palermo in June 2017.
Gabriella Ciancimino (Palermo, 1978), Pietro Ruffo (Rome, 1978) e Luca Trevisani (Verona, 1979) will travel together with three other artists from different geographical origins: Andrew Mania (Bristol, 1974), Marianna Christofides (Nicosia, 1980) and Malak Helmy (Alexandria, 1982).
The photographer Leonardo Scotti (Milan, 1988) will take visual notes of the trip on the residency’s blog, planeta.it/en/viaggioinsicilia which will be constantly updated with images, thoughts and a photo story of the places visited during the journey.

THE PROJECT
How can two different themes, such as “maps” and “myths”, dialogue with each other? Myth in Sicily is a constant undercurrent, used since ancient times to explain the majestic natural phenomena, from the sea – that surrounds the three-pointed island, whose triangular shape has fed legends – the perpetually active volcanoes, from Etna to Stromboli. Maps have an ancient tradition, perfected with the Arab geographers, the most famous, al-Idrisi at the court of the Norman King, Roger II wrote the, Sollazzo for those who delight to travel the world (known as the “Book of Roger”) to combine science and art, space mapping and monitoring the territory. In a continuous line running from the majesty of the Greek temples, clearly visible and impressive to those who came from afar, to the Norman fortified churches, the castles of Frederick II, the geography of these places disseminates the Sicilian territory of symbolic meanings, places of protection and identification. A typical landscape of the south of Italy, where earth and sky cohabit, as do geographical researches and legends. Even the four cardinal points, the central geometric element of the cartographer, is linked to symbols and myth. In fact, according to the medieval thinker Honorius of Atun, in his famous Imago Mundi, the compass does not only indicate the geographical lines but also mystical routes, in reference to the symbol of the number 4, expression of the Universe.
In contemporary art, maps have become one of the many languages of artistic expression, starting from the sixties, from those of the United States created by Jasper Johns to the global ones conceived by Alighiero Boetti. For these artists, scale and precision are of no importance and the entire map becomes a work of art where the places may be recognizable although not represented with geographical accuracy.
The nomadic residency will take place during the harvesting of wine grapes throughout the six estates of the company (Ulmo at Sambuca di Sicilia, Dispensa at Menfi, Dorilli at Vittoria, Buonivini at Noto, Feudo di Mezzo on Mount Etna and La Baronia at Capo Milazzo) within a context where history and landscape have had strong associations over the centuries and where today the winemaking industry has allowed the reactivation of a debate on the relationship of man with nature. Places where, especially for foreign artists, man can experience the power of ancient mythology when visiting the ruins of Magna Graecia. 
The group will end the trip in Dorilli, near Vittoria, where, on Saturday, September 10th at 7.00pm, the public will be invited to meet the artists, who will be joined by the writer Gianluigi Ricuperati (Turin, 1977) who has been invited to contribute with a text to the exhibition catalogue of June 2017.

PLANETA FOR ART AND TERRITORY
Planeta is a Sicilian wine production company originating in 1995 from a long agricultural tradition, carried out between Sambuca di Sicilia and Menfi since the 16th century. Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta established the company’s project with the co-operation of the whole family, for generations involved in the area of Sicilian agriculture.

Planeta’s wine production takes place in six estates lying within the beautiful Sicilian countryside, each one defined by a specific research and evaluation project. The company’s activities are strongly tied to making the most of the land, to its history and to its care through the use of renewable energy, the recycling of materials, sustainable agriculture, respect for the countryside, for the cultural heritage and for the communities within which Planeta operates.

The project Viaggio in Sicilia is also involved in this vision which aims to safeguard cultural and social history, while at the same time sustaining a strong emphasis on innovation and on the connection between tradition, modernity and territory. Over the years many artists have been invited to participate, among them members of the Gruppo di Scicli; the photographer Shobha, Alessandro Bazan, Juichi Yoshikawa and the protagonists of the last edition, Adrianna Glaviano, Carlo and Fabio Ingrassia, Paula Karoline Kamps, John Kleckner and Ignazio Mortellaro, who this year was invited to design the corporate identity for VIS7.

Technical information:
project: Planeta’s project for Art and Territory, Viaggio in Sicilia
title: Maps & Myths of the Mediterranean
edition: seventh
curated by: Valentina Bruschi
period: September 2016, nomadic residency in Sicily | June 2017, exhibition in Palermo
artists: Marianna Christofides, Gabriella Ciancimino, Malak Helmy, Andrew Mania, Pietro Ruffo, Luca Trevisani
photographer: Leonardo Scotti

social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – Planeta Winery
hashtag: #VIS7