The Blank is pleased to announce its collaboration with ArtOxygen (ArtO2) for the project of [en]counters 2017 – Daily Ration: Leda Windmill, the Numerologist of Alacati, realized by Gabriella Ciancimino who opens her Liberty Soft Drinks Cafe at Juhu Beach (Mumbai) from 26 to 28 October.
The artist’s project is part of her ongoing research analysing relations between plants and humans, creating situations where the two parts confront each other. Gabriella studies what emerges from relational exchanges seen through the invented Leda Windmill, the Numerologist of Alacati, whose origins are imagined, unknown and whose story will only be revealed from the social networks that are activated on the beach. Leda Windmill, the Numerologist of Alacati plays on the image of the soothsayer, taking the form of a street cafe, inviting people to engage in card games. Candidates will receive a psychological profiling using cards that carry numbers and iconographic illustrations of medicinal plants. Combining beliefs of pythagorean philosophy and knowledge of local herbal scientists and botanists, the work invites a dialogue on the concept of resistance and freedom applied in relation to the local environment. As each game begins, participants are offered a freedom cure – the Liberty Soft Drink – a herbal remedy prepared with natural medicinal experts.
Gabriella Ciancimino (1978, lives and works in Palermo) uses site-specificity and collaborative processes incorporating diverse media as drawing, video, installation and sculpture. Her work can be found in public collections of RISO – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea della Sicilia (Palermo), Museo del Novecento (Milan), Museo Villa Croce (Genova) and Frac Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (Marseille FR).
Founded in 2009, ArtOxygen (ArtO2) is a Mumbai-based art initiative curating and producing art projects in urban spaces. Since 2010, ArtO2 organizes [en]counters, a public art festival dealing with issues affecting the everyday life of Mumbai.
The project, presented by UBI Banca, is realized in collaboration with The Blank Contemporary Art and with the support of Italian Embassy Cultural Centre. The work will be activated at Juhu Beach (Mumbai) on 26-28 October from 4.30 to 7.30pm.