Soundstorm, a dynamic Kinetic installation, converges technology and sculptural elements to orchestrate an immersive experience where the environment comes alive in response to barometric pressure. The installation’s centerpiece is a mesmerizing dance of isobars, portrayed by a motorized web of pulleys and ropes that elegantly envelopes the gallery. This captivating interplay not only visually interprets atmospheric changes but also introduces a symphony of metallic sounds, resonating within the space. Taking the dialogue between art and nature beyond conventional limits, the metallic echoes extend beyond the gallery walls, creating a tableau vivant that harmonizes the controlled artistry of the installation with the organic rhythms of the world outside.
Date: 2010
Exibited: LAB Gallery, New York, USA
Medium: Barometric pressure, ropes, pullies, Interactive technology & immersive experience
DATE: Developed at The Arctic Circle Residency in 2015.
MEDIUM: Performance Art, Activist Intervention, Video, Photography, Immersive Installation
EXHIBITED:
Fondazione Pino Pascali – 2020
SpartiAcque – NUCRÉ 2024
Name Of Show – 00/ Month/ 0000 – Location
This occupation of the North Pole Territory is a provocative action involving the occupation of four Arctic territories. The project was inspired by the political and economic tensions and controversies surrounding the race to appropriate Arctic territories (safeguarded by the United Nations as part of humanity’s heritage) by neighboring nations. As the title suggests, the project carried out a legal occupation both physically—with group members present on-site—and legislatively, through legal disputes and procedures based on the laws of international law waters.
The Svalbard archipelago is one of the territories governed by these international water laws [3]. At the same time, it is a Norwegian protectorate and is subject to speculation by nations that are part of the Svalbard Treaty [4] , including Italy. Theoretically, the treaty’s signatory nations—and consequently, the private entities within them—have a privileged pathway to occupy the territory and exploit its natural resources.
The melting of polar ice caps due to global warming has inevitably intensified the economic interests of the countries involved in the area. These nations, particularly those directly bordering the Arctic, have sought to extend their sovereignty over the region through a complex dance of continuous disputes with competing states and the United Nations. This political battle has been fought through legal, physical, and diplomatic actions, creating an endless trail of treaties, revisions, and diplomatic declarations over the years.
This tug-of-war has been ironically dubbed “the flag war [5]”, referring to the practice of planting flags in Arctic territories (and on their seabeds [6]) by the interested nations.
Mimicking this “flag war,” I decided to join the race for the North Pole using the same legal, diplomatic, and institutional tools employed in the dispute between the UN and the countries bordering the Arctic Circle. By using my land-art piece as a tool for occupation, I claimed the territory as the setting for a commercial operation. As a commercially quantifiable artistic creation, the work itself—both in its physical form and in the reproduction of its image—undeniably exploits the natural resources of the area, namely the majestic Arctic landscape.
The work consists of four videos documenting the four territorial occupations carried out at the North Pole. Each video is accompanied by corresponding flags installed on poles in a celebratory spirit, representing the specific occupation.
The project culminates with the fourth and final video, in which two individuals armed with flags attempt to occupy the same territory. This leads to an inevitable conflict over control of territorial resources, which inevitably escalates into an offensive, symbolically represented by a “snowball fight.”
As a provocation, “Occupy North” aims to challenge our legal and social conventions [7]. In the Western world, these conventions are rooted in Roman law, serving a culture that has made colonization its political strength and economic success. Over time, through a tradition of military conquest and exploitation, these conventions have taken hold in the rest of the world [8].
On the brink of a new space exploration race, the question worth asking today is: are we prepared to carry these conventions to the moon, the asteroids, and Mars?
This occupation of the North Pole Territory is a provocative action involving the occupation of four Arctic territories. The project was inspired by the political and economic tensions and controversies surrounding the race to appropriate Arctic territories (safeguarded by the United Nations as part of humanity’s heritage) by neighboring nations. As the title suggests, the project carried out a legal occupation both physically—with group members present on-site—and legislatively, through legal disputes and procedures based on the laws of international law waters.
The Svalbard archipelago is one of the territories governed by these international water laws [3]. At the same time, it is a Norwegian protectorate and is subject to speculation by nations that are part of the Svalbard Treaty [4] , including Italy. Theoretically, the treaty’s signatory nations—and consequently, the private entities within them—have a privileged pathway to occupy the territory and exploit its natural resources.
The melting of polar ice caps due to global warming has inevitably intensified the economic interests of the countries involved in the area. These nations, particularly those directly bordering the Arctic, have sought to extend their sovereignty over the region through a complex dance of continuous disputes with competing states and the United Nations. This political battle has been fought through legal, physical, and diplomatic actions, creating an endless trail of treaties, revisions, and diplomatic declarations over the years.
This tug-of-war has been ironically dubbed “the flag war [5]”, referring to the practice of planting flags in Arctic territories (and on their seabeds [6]) by the interested nations.
Mimicking this “flag war,” I decided to join the race for the North Pole using the same legal, diplomatic, and institutional tools employed in the dispute between the UN and the countries bordering the Arctic Circle. By using my land-art piece as a tool for occupation, I claimed the territory as the setting for a commercial operation. As a commercially quantifiable artistic creation, the work itself—both in its physical form and in the reproduction of its image—undeniably exploits the natural resources of the area, namely the majestic Arctic landscape.
The work consists of four videos documenting the four territorial occupations carried out at the North Pole. Each video is accompanied by corresponding flags installed on poles in a celebratory spirit, representing the specific occupation.
The project culminates with the fourth and final video, in which two individuals armed with flags attempt to occupy the same territory. This leads to an inevitable conflict over control of territorial resources, which inevitably escalates into an offensive, symbolically represented by a “snowball fight.”
As a provocation, “Occupy North” aims to challenge our legal and social conventions [7]. In the Western world, these conventions are rooted in Roman law, serving a culture that has made colonization its political strength and economic success. Over time, through a tradition of military conquest and exploitation, these conventions have taken hold in the rest of the world [8].
On the brink of a new space exploration race, the question worth asking today is: are we prepared to carry these conventions to the moon, the asteroids, and Mars?
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