Wounded Words Wounding Words, a group exhibition curated by Marta Cereda, was developed for the Biblioteca Capitolare, Verona, one of the symbolic sites for Europe’s written memory, with artworks on loan from private collections and galleries participating in the fair.
The Capitolare – considered the world’s oldest library still in operation, with an invaluable collection of than 1,200 manuscripts – is a place of reflection, where the words in the codices are overlaid with marks of the violence they have suffered: in 1945, the building was bombed and destroyed, and the damaged volumes are still marred by shards, burns and fragments. In this context of history and resistance, an exhibition takes shape that focuses the gaze on text as field of tension, to explore the relationship between language, ideology and violence. The selected works explore its ambivalent potential: a communication tool, but also a tool for manipulation; vehicle of truth, but also of propaganda; weapon and refuge, construction and reconciliation.
Through a journey that unfolds and integrates into the museum spaces, Wounded Words Wounding Words reflects on how words can become actions. Acts that wound, defend, separate, unite. The critical spirit thus returns to being a radical gesture: every word is a choice, and every choice can be an act of resistance and revolution.
The exhibition features works by: Vincenzo Agnetti, Nanni Balestrini, Mirella Bentivoglio, Alighiero Boetti, Marcel Broodthaers, Marcello Carrà, Dina Danish, Tacita Dean, Gaia De Megni, Marco De Sanctis, Marlene Dumas, Milli Gandini, Alfredo Jaar, Maria Lai, Lucia Marcucci, Sabrina Mezzaqui, Rebecca Moccia, Shirin Neshat, Man Ray, David Reimondo, Micol Roubini, Sarenco, Markus Schinwald, Marinella Senatore, Giulio Squillacciotti, Armando Testa, Tobias Zielony, Andrea Zittel.
On Thursday, October 9, at 7:30 p.m. (reserved entry, by invitation only), Gaia De Megni will present her performance Propaganda, featuring dialogue from Liliana Cavani’s 1970 film I Cannibali, along with other elements of cinematic iconography.
On Friday, October 10, at 7:00 PM, Stina Fors will perform A Mouthful of Tongues, a magic show in which the voice appears detached from the artist’s body. The work is charged with tension, humor, and raw power. The performance is part of the project It Sounds Like Another Word, curated by Nicola Giuliani, founder of Campo Base Projects.
Exhibition opening hours:
Thursday 9 October (opening by invitation)
Friday 10 and Saturday 11 October, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday 12 October, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
From 13 to 26 October, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed on Wednesdays