Located in the centre of Sicily, the town of Gibellina is a real open-air museum, probably one of the most amazing in the world. On 14 January 1968, the Belice Valley was hit by a violent earthquake. Gibellina as well as several other villages were totally destroyed. In the aftermath of the earthquake, Ludovico Corrao, mayor of the town and deputy in Rome, called upon famous artists and architects to imagine the construction of Gibellina Nuova about ten kilometres from the stricken village. Joseph Beuys, Alberto Burri, Mimmo Paladino and Pietro Consagra contributed to the birth of this utopian city. Built for 20,000 people, it now has around 2,500 inhabitants, numerous open-air sculptures and architectural constructions as unfinished as they are improbable. On the spot, Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs imagined performance staging Gibellina Nuova's theatre, which has never received visitors. Reproduced as a hyperrealistic model and installed on a vehicle, this strange character slowly circulates through the empty streets of the city, playing melancholic Italian songs. The performance returns a year later for the Festival Images as a video installation. Entitled È tempo ormai di dirti addio, it is presented in the Salle Clara Haskil in the Castillo, which offers a bird's eye view of the Market Square in the city of Vevey.
(Text Images Vevey 2020)
(Text Images Vevey 2020)
Directors: Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs
Editor: Martin Piga
Sound Design: Igor Jedinák
Music & Lyrics: Elisa Abela
Narrator: Nicolo Stabile
Construction by: Filippo Pirello & crew
Curator: Chiara Capodici
PRODUCED FOR PHOTOROAD 2019, WITH SUPPORT OF PROHELVETIA AND IMAGES VEVEY
