Francesco Diluca. Rarica

"Rarica" is the new site-specific project by the artist and sculptor Francesco Diluca, curated by Lara Gaeta and Camilla Nacci Zanetti, specifically designed to pay homage to Sicily. The exhibition, organized in collaboration with Aditus, involves two exhibition venues from April 20th to September 30th, 2024: the Castello Maniace in Ortigia, Syracuse, a historic monument from the Swabian period overlooking the sea, and the Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo, which houses a precious variety of plant species.

Drawing inspiration from the sea and the creatures that inhabit it, Rarica (meaning "root" in Sicilian dialect) speaks through over thirty works including sculptures, land art installations, and videos, about the interdependence between humans and nature, ecosystems, organisms living in communities, and transformative processes. The artist's sculptures depict human anatomies, augmented with concretions and heterogeneous elements such as filaments, leaves, and butterflies. The bodies are in a transformative state, disintegrating and appearing insubstantial, despite being made of solid materials like iron.

The exhibition journey begins in the sea off Ortigia with the underwater sculpture "Reef - Kura Halos" installed in the waters in front of the Castle. The work is visible from the beach or through diving. Designed for the seabed and intended to host other forms of life in its cavities, "Reef - Kura Halos" emphasizes urgent environmental themes such as rising sea temperatures and the resulting coral bleaching. For the realization of the work, the artist collaborated with marine biologists.

Returning to the surface, numerous works are displayed in the spaces of Castello Maniace. Here, the two protagonists of the metaphorical journey led by Diluca meet the visitor: Orpheus, or rather the work "Rooting - Orpheus," which opens and closes access to the Castle's Cannonades, and Eurydice, namely the installation work "Madrepora - Eurydice." While the sculpture of Orpheus still retains human features, Eurydice is evanescent: it is a land art installation that mixes natural elements like sand, salt, and gravel with small sculptures representing corals. The public can interact with the installation by walking on it or collecting some specimens to take with them.

The use of myth serves as a pretext to express the complex relationship between complementary elements: water and earth, abyss and surface, marine and terrestrial creatures, life and death. Contrary to the tragic conclusion of Orpheus's journey, which ends with the death of Eurydice, the artist's works compensate for death with the regeneration of life.... read the rest of the article»