CROSSOVER
Four L-bar electro-mechanical barriers Nice,  m 5 x 1,20 x 5, public installation
ÜberMauer_BAM: Biennale Arcipelago Mediterraneo, Piazza Magione, Palermo
2019

Courtesy the artist and Fondazione Merz

Sicily, like all islands, carries both peculiarities and contradictions. Surrounded by the sea, this surface of land is a place of gathering and a somewhat remote dimension; autonomous, though victim of conquests since time immemorial; strong and fragile as its traditions and people; closed and open at the same time.

Four mechanic barriers emphasise this concept of space. Placed one next to the other to form a square, with lowered beams they delineate a space, enclosing it. On the contrary, when the beams are lifted, they allow for free passage, abolishing any borders.

The mechanic and automatic repetition of the barriers creates a tension, which highlights the issue of openness and closeness, hospitality and refusal; a debate that has always accompanied the history of mankind and that especially today is vivid and present in our society. Four mobile barriers therefore become a ring for a complex twist and exchange of ideas and opinions.

CROSSOVER has been produced thanks to Fondazione Merz, Anna and Isidoro Mazza, Irene and Michele Collura.

Acknowledgement: Beatrice Merz, Silvano Bertalot, Maria Centonze, Agata Polizzi, Giorgio Mega, Andrea Cusumano, team Fondazione Merz, team AS_impianti .

Photo credits: Lisa Wade, Gero Cani, Fondazione Merz