From a symbolic point of view, what meaning do you attribute to this bungalow?
I wanted to give the idea of a primitive refuge and, at the same time, a ruined country house in a pastoral dimension. I have tried to create a mysterious structure / house / empty space to stimulate the audience to enter in it. Once inside, the visitor can listen intimately to the sound of mantras coming out of an iPhone, and in the meantime they can look at the surrounding landscape, as the bungalow walls, uneven, have obvious openings. The key of the work is the relationship between the man and a global, all-inclusive, almost spiritual dimension as evidenced by the photographic documentation of the works included in the Land Art Marche project carried out by a crane equipped with a mechanical trolley of 40 meters in height, which allows you to a zenital view of the work.
You've been able to adhere to the idea of creating an artwork with land-based poor materials, that means that it is integrated into the landscape, but you've chosen to include an iPhone in the installation, creating a contrasting element. What is your purpose?
I used only local materials, the same project set this condition since the work must be able to create a camouflage relationship with the landscape. I also consider my smartphone belonging to an "easy" nature in the sense that I used it as an element that can complete the installation. Sure that my iPhone7 in ten years can be considered a poor material, I can say that the wooden structure of the bungalow and the presence of the cell phone at sight can be considered as non-contrasting elements.
What are the main differences between showing in a museum and a Land Art experience, in a place characterized by a strong bond with spirituality, and an audience not really used to contemporary art?
Before I came to the Ashram Joytinat I was thinking of making a really different kind of work, I was influenced by the sight of Third Paradise, the installation of straw bales created last year and linked to the performance of Michelangelo Pistoletto. But when I started working, those suggestions have vanished, because I always have to deal with contingencies related to the
Artist T-yong Chung in a Yoga pose during the opening of Bungalow Mantra
Ashram Joytinat (AN), 2017; ph. Mirko Silvestrini