ANDREA ABBATANGELO
A.A.LLES
A project for »12th Darmstadt Days of Photography«
The research will focus on the role of art, natural and social sciences in the public context. The residency will be the opportunity to produce a collaborative series of works dedicated to the community of Darmstadt and based on photography, performance, public art and social engagement. The goal is to involve both individuals and groups of people to a practice based research in which natural and social sciences are focused on the concerning presence of chemicals in the public space. To do so, there will be an Open Call to engage local groups and collectives (dance schools, sports clubs, waste collectors, architectural groups and urban planners, teachers, trade unionists, sportsmen, housewives, retirees, musicians, writers). The artist in collaboration with the people involved will create a docu-fictional series of images concerning the consciousness of all living beings and how it changes when exposed to chemicals, for example pollution and pesticides, in public spaces.
In his current research, Andrea Abbatangelo is researching the impact of pesticides on the cognitive system of pollinators. Specifically the investigation is focused on the interaction of chemicals to the consciousness.
To better understand the relationship between consciousness and the public space, it is important to reflect on an aspect that emerged during the lockdown related to the pandemic.
Whilst populations were isolated for weeks into their individual private places, this was the safest. This new dimension embraced both the private and the professional sphere of people, in which individuals struggled, cultivated their unexpressed talents and explored themselves. Being separated from collaborative interactions and so from the public space had revealed how important is the public sphere.
Thus, the whole experience underlined the dualities between private and public space; what is hidden within society and what is shared. For this reason most of the activities will focus on consciousness, the impact of chemicals to the cognitive system and the public space.
