'Sketch for Sposalizio del Mare' by Austin Young / Fallen Fruit , 2024 (in progress)
Sposalizio del Mare (il Ratto di Venetia ) - by Austin Young / Fallen Fruit, 2024, a site specific artwork at Palazzo Cesari Marchesi in Venice, Italy presented by THE POOL NYC.
On Ascension Day, for hundreds of years, a sacrifice was made - a glorious golden ring was thrown into the water affirming Venice's dominion over the Adriatic Sea. The magic of this divine sacrifice was powerful enough to last centuries. Amid dwindling population, the fouling of her canals, ever encroaching tides, and short term rentals, we re-invoke this ancient vow. *Desponsamus te, mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii! *We espouse you, sea, as a symbol of true and perpetual dominion!
Title: Marriage of the Sea (the rape of Venice) / Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia)
Artist: Austin Young / Fallen Fruit
Opening: April 18 from 5 to 10 p.m.
Opening performance: visitors will mary the sea in a ceremony with artist Irene Machetti.
Where: THE POOL NYC at PALAZZO CESARI MARCHESI
Calle Rombiasio 2539, Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, 30124 Venice
Vaporetto: Giglio
Hours: 11am- 1pm/ 2- 7 pm - Closed on Tuesdays
Technical sponsor: PROMEMORIA
Technical sponsor for the opening: Franco Profumiere Venezia
ABOUT AUSTIN YOUNG / FALLEN FRUIT
Austin Young is a multidisciplinary artist whose trademark style interprets a nuanced visual language of beauty, pop culture, art history, folk art, and transgressive underground exuberance. Whether he’s working in photography and video-based modes of performative portraiture, engaging in assertive visibility for Queer culture, or advocating for a community-based resource sharing culture, Young’s interest is in illustrating the sublime qualities of humanity that moves us all forward.
Fallen Fruit is an art collaboration originally conceived in 2004 by David Burns, Matias Viegener and Austin Young. Since 2013, David and Austin have continued the collaborative work. Much of the work they create is linked to ideas of place and generational knowledge, and it echoes a sense of connectedness with something very primal – our capacity to share the world with others. Recent permanent artworks and museum exhibitions include Chiotro del Bramante in Rome, Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Orto Botanico in Palermo, V&A in London, LACMA in Los Angeles, Manifesta 12 in Palermo, NGV Triennial in Melbourne, and more.
www.austinyoung.com www.fallenfruit.org Instagram: @austinyoungforever @fallen_fruit
ABOUT IRENE MACHETTI
Irene Machetti (Venice, 1996) uses food as her artistic medium and a tool for anthropological and socio-cultural investigation, studying the traditions and norms that regulate it. Challenging ancient rites and customs, she creates edible installations and performative projects that establish a dialogue between art and food, involving the visitor's body and senses. Her research expands into the journalistic and curatorial field: Machetti writes about art and food on FAD Magazine (where she founded the column “FOOD ART” ) and Artribune.
Irene Machetti holds a BA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art (London), followed by an MA at the LUISS Business School (Rome). The artist participates in projects between London and Italy, including: Collective Recipes (Open Space Contemporary, London, 2020); Contaminami (Cable Bakery, London, 2020 and Festival "I Tramonti di Tinia", Azienda Agricola Spada, Sutri, 2023); Mi sono scordata di dirti che (Tropismi della memoria, Rome, 2023); Art Diners with Catriona Gallagher (Rome, 2024).
ABOUT THE POOL NYC
THE POOL NYC is a contemporary art gallery founded in New York in 2009, specializing in modern and contemporary artists and Murano glass. In November 2017 THE POOL NYC opened a permanent home in Palazzo Fagnani Ronzoni in Milan. On the occasion of the Venice Biennale, the gallery organizes a major art exhibition in the lagoon. The gallery stands out for its search for innovative artistic expressions and the rediscovery of artists fundamental to the History of the 20th century. THE POOL NYC is committed to offer an inclusive and diverse platform, welcoming a wide range of artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography and installations. With a focus on experimentation and critical reflection, the gallery promotes meaningful dialogues on contemporary issues through art.
In Signum Veri Amoris
Irene Machetti, participatory performance in three acts, 2024
In dialogue with the artwork Sposalizio del Mare (Il ratto di Venezia) / Marriage of the Sea (The Rape of Venice) by Austin Young / Fallen Fruit, the artist Irene Machetti presents the ritual In Signum Veri Amoris, a token of the ancient Venetian ceremony of the Marriage of the Sea.
The title recalls the formula the Doge – the highest official of the Republic of the Serenissima– would pronounce on the occasion of the symbolic marriage between Venice and the sea: ‘Desponsamus te, Mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii’ (We marry you, Sea, in sign of our truthful and eternal dominion over you). This union, born from the desire of the Serenissima to ostentatiously display its power and its dominion over the waters, is in stark contrast with the current need to develop a sustainable coexistence between the city and its ecosystem.
To create this type of bond it becomes vital to transform the concept of dominion into one of protection, into a form of love that does not oppress but rather nurtures. Machetti thus proposes a new marriage with the sea, one made 'in signum veri amoris', in the name of love, inviting the public to respect the oath taken during the artistic performance.
Through specific acts and gestures, the artist calls upon the audience to abandon their usual perceptive schemas and to use their body and senses to fully engage in the performance. The ritual symbolically outlines a bridge between the ancient power of Venice, summarised in the decorative splendour of the Bucentaur, and the current state of a city marked by abandonment and a permeating kitsch. The references to the island city, so vividly and poetically described in Austin Young’s imagery, will keep refracting throughout the space, in a continuous game made up of presence and absence, sparkle and decadence: treasure chests of salt will reveal a fragile and porous ecosystem; opulent fragrances will take us far away, in a bygone era that was characterised by preciousness and power; grains of gold will be juxtaposed with transparent, delicate lagoon veils.
The performance will be activated by metaphorical and actual references to the colours and flavours of Venice: A journey through the history of the city evoked by distant and flamboyant ingredients and hints to the sea and the lagoon flowers. This ceremony will be marked by an olfactory journey, specifically crafted by Franco Profumiere Venezia. Starting from a fresh, marine scent, the last act will conclude with the rich perfumes coming from the Far East: a cultural horizon with which the Serenissima has woven solid and profitable ties.
Of particular relevance will be the gestures, which the artist has reconstructed starting from Western wedding ceremonies, a new viaticum to accompany visitors within a unique emotional experience, but with a strong territorial bond.
Technical sponsor: Franco Profumiere Venezia.