Poxiàs II
2017, Poxiàs, mixed media installation, dimensions variable, commissioned by Giorgio de Finis, part of MAAM collection, Rome, Italy
MAAM, Museo dell'Altro e dell'Altrove di Metropoliz_città meticcia (The Museum of the Other and the Elsewhere) is the third biggest contemporary art museum in Rome. Its realization was born as an ideal continuation of the work carried out in the context of the Metropoliz Space as an ethnographic, film, and art site. On reaching the Moon, the ''mixed'' city sits in an "outer space"- the one mentioned in the international treaties, a public space, where weapons and private property are not allowed, and where it is possible to experiment with new forms of social coexistence.
It is a device.
In MAAM, artists are invited to contribute by leaving artwork that will interact with the space and with the inhabitants. With word of mouth universities, galleries, independent curators, and many others become part of this initiative. By starting a new virtuous relationship between art and city and between art and life, the Metropoliz will also equip itself with a precious collection, which will help it protect itself from the ever-present threat of forced eviction.
Many of them incorporate remnants of the site's previous use as a slaughterhouse or, taking inspiration from its residents, address ideas of discrimination, xenophobia, and nationalism. A room once used for stripping carcasses features a giant mural of strung-up pigs. Livestock cages serve as part of an installation about the lives of prisoners and migrants. All artwork is donated as a gesture of support for the illegal museum that works on no budget.
Known as Metropoliz, it houses around 200 people, including 60 families with children, hailing from all around the world. The inhabitants, who arrived here in 2009 from places such as Peru, Romania, Ukraine, and Morocco, often refer to themselves as ''Metropoliziani'' highlighting the sense of community by living in this space. The ''citizens'' of Maam, most of whom are poor and unemployed, maintain the museum together with the curator de Finis. To protect their privacy and for fear that police might try to evict them, they open the museum only on Saturdays and for occasional special events.
It is a device.
In MAAM, artists are invited to contribute by leaving artwork that will interact with the space and with the inhabitants. With word of mouth universities, galleries, independent curators, and many others become part of this initiative. By starting a new virtuous relationship between art and city and between art and life, the Metropoliz will also equip itself with a precious collection, which will help it protect itself from the ever-present threat of forced eviction.
Many of them incorporate remnants of the site's previous use as a slaughterhouse or, taking inspiration from its residents, address ideas of discrimination, xenophobia, and nationalism. A room once used for stripping carcasses features a giant mural of strung-up pigs. Livestock cages serve as part of an installation about the lives of prisoners and migrants. All artwork is donated as a gesture of support for the illegal museum that works on no budget.
Known as Metropoliz, it houses around 200 people, including 60 families with children, hailing from all around the world. The inhabitants, who arrived here in 2009 from places such as Peru, Romania, Ukraine, and Morocco, often refer to themselves as ''Metropoliziani'' highlighting the sense of community by living in this space. The ''citizens'' of Maam, most of whom are poor and unemployed, maintain the museum together with the curator de Finis. To protect their privacy and for fear that police might try to evict them, they open the museum only on Saturdays and for occasional special events.
