Francesca Grilli “The Forgetting of Air”

Francesca Grilli (b. 1978 Italy)
The Forgetting of Air, 2016/2019
Performance
Courtesy Umberto Di Marino, Naples

The Forgetting of Airis a performance originally conceived for Italy as a ‘gate of Europe’, which has a site-specific aspect: every time it is performed in a city, the artist invites immigrants to join the group of performers, revealing the different types of migration flux that characterize various areas of Europe. During the 12th Kaunas Biennial, the performance took place at the Kaunas Artists’ House with local, amateur performers. The work is grounded in the idea of air as a territory of exchange, encouraging reflection on contemporary migration processes through the visual and audible presence of breathing as an action that marks life.

Photos of performance by Marija Stanulytė.