It is the 1970s, and the landscape around Milan still hosts numerous factories and workers. Like many others, one of them periodically brings home his work suit to be washed by his wife. Made of metal fibres and asbestos, the suit protects him from the high temperatures of the steel mill, but it turns out to be carcinogenic. When entering the home, the work suit brought with itself possible health consequences.

Based on this family story, the multimedia project “Scintilla” addresses the potential consequences of what enters the domestic sphere from the factory, as an extension of the industrial landscape. In the project installation, a series of photographs related to this memory taken by Nicoletta Grillo is collected in an analogue carousel projector. The images show elements, places, and actions, such as that of washing and breathing.

Within a rhythmic projection punctuated by mechanical noises, the breathing exercises performed by a figure in the photographic series appear as a reminder of how harmful agents can enter the body, but also as an invitation to take time away from contemporary labour rhythms.

Workshop

Fabbrica del Vapore
2023

Installation view

2023
- Fondazione Stelline
- Fabbrica del Vapore