I SAW THE GUTS OF THE ANGEL, AND THEY WERE AS BLACK AS COAL

Maria Vittoria Cavazzana's work draws its formal references from the fantasy world, anime, and video games. For Platea, the artist presents a sword suspended in mid-air, rendered inaccessible by the thickness of the glass case. If, as in the virtual world, there were no difference in density between one dimension and another, and it were therefore possible to pass through the glass, the viewer would be faced with a sword ready to be "worn."

The handle of the sword, its dimensions, and thickness are faithful to those of an authentic weapon. Mimicking the work of a blacksmith for the precision with which she has worked the materials and, at the same time, distinguishing herself from it through the attitude at the core of her work, the artist has produced this sword by experimenting with resin and precious metals. Rather than with the patience of a craftsman, Cavazzana approaches these materials with the curiosity of an alchemist. Tin, quartz, silicon carbide, and paint contribute to making her weapon an irresistible and precious object. To accentuate this allure emanating from the object she forged, the artist has installed a sound inside the showcase, produced in collaboration with Riccardo Salin, a sound designer specializing in audio production for entertainment products in the television and video game industry. In doing so, the work exceeds the limits imposed by Platea's space, unlocking infinite visions in the minds of visitors. The soundtrack was created by sequencing and remixing various tapes from the gaming industry. Reactivating references that are part of the collective imagination of a generation that, between the '80s and '90s, was shaped by the first video games, the fantasy world, and Japanese anime, the artist proposes an escape window to a world parallel to ours.

Wanting to place Cavazzana's work in the contemporary debate that, in recent decades, has made the fantasy genre one of the materials useful for reinterpreting issues related to social inequalities and the ecological survival of the planet, they have in common the invocation of a simulated dimension, where something or someone can be reborn. However, at the core of Cavazzana's intervention, there is no explicit social claim or ideological manifesto. In front of the sword, a reality manifests itself that boasts no victors, and even less so, winners. Despite the many invitations to "take and handle the sword" that the artist indirectly addresses to her audience, there are no instructions on how it should be used. I saw the guts of the angel is an image that remains suspended between a subjective vision and a shared mirage. Something that, emanating energy now white, now dark, urges us to renegotiate the threshold of the possible.