CONFINI
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The project consists of two video installations that investigate the theme of borders and contemporary migration, exploring the human drama through data, testimonies, and a visual-audio rhythm.
Map of Losses
A map of the world gradually comes to life, indicating the places where, from 2014 to 2025, thousands of migrants lost their lives attempting to cross geographical and political borders: the Mediterranean, the border between Mexico and the United States, the Sahara Desert, the Bay of Bengal, and others. Each marked point is accompanied by a sheet providing the incident data: date, location, number of victims, origin, and destination. The installation builds a visual archive of the migratory tragedy, a geography of silence that grows over time. A minimal soundtrack acts as a visual metronome: it marks the passage of time and the progressive appearance of data on the map, accentuating the inexorable and repetitive nature of the news.
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Overlapping Voices
In this second installation, the testimonies of surviving migrants appear on the screen in text form. Each sentence is repeated multiple times in random positions, forming visual blocks—abstract paintings composed of overlapping words. The result is a layering of memories that lose their individuality to merge into a collective presence, dense and visually powerful. The minimal sound does not accompany but structures: it punctuates the appearance and reiteration of the words, guiding the rhythm with which the painting forms and expands, like a mechanical breath or a regular heartbeat.
AUDIO ON/OFF
Data
The data used in the "Map of Losses" were extracted from:
"IOM's Missing Migrants Project" - https://missingmigrants.iom.int
(Please note that not all items are present in the "Map of Loses" installation)
Testimonies
The testimonies appearing in "Overlapping Voices" are from:
- Interviews conducted by the author as part of "Sabbia" social theater project (created by Riccardo Vannuccini - Artestudio), with asylum seekers at the Castelnuovo di Porto reception center (CARA)
- Interviews conducted aboard the Geo Barents (search and rescue vessel - Doctors Without Borders) - https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/stories-survival-mediterranean-migration-route
- Interviews conducted aboard the Life Support (search and rescue vessel - Emergency) - https://www.emergency.it/storie-migranti-dalla-life-support/
The author used MAX software (Cycling'74) to program the audio/visual processing of the data and testimonies
UCCELLI
In a dark room, visitors see life-size projections of men, women, and children floating in a dark, misty sky, their soft movements reminiscent of birds. A soundscape adds suspense to the whole.
Visitors can participate in the installation by entering a small room near the one just described. Upon entering, visitors activate a pressure sensor. They will be asked to jump (with a countdown to keep them ready). As soon as their feet leave the platform, video recording at 120 fps (or higher) will be activated on a computer connected to a camera. As soon as their feet touch the platform again, the stop signal will be sent. The video will undergo these processes automatically: trimming at the beginning and end of a few frames (to cut contact with the platform), color keying (if the background is green) or luma keying (if the background is black), loop playback in both directions (forward and backward) with slow motion and further slow motion when it reaches the end or beginning (to make the video’s direction changes smoother).
Hardware/Software
- Camera, 1 projector, pressure sensor for the platform, LCD screen (20')
- Computer with Max, Arduino, speakers (background soundscape)
Processing:
- Screen in the small room where "ready to jump!" appears with the countdown to jump underneath, all activated by pressing the platform.
- Start/stop video recording (push-button)
- Trim start/end and save the file in a folder with a name and a sequential number (automatically)
- Load the file and play it with chromakey or lumakey in a loop and in slow motion against a background along with other existing backgrounds. If there's no more space between the various "birds," it will replace an existing one (automatically).
- Very dark background with a kind of fog (could be a simple video clip or something created with Max/Jitter)
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NO HELP
Interactive video installation
The visitor enters a nearly dark room. On one side of the room is a door with a light above it that illuminates the space in front (a semicircle of light). Behind the door, the sound of someone banging their fists can be heard, along with shouts (sometimes in multiple languages): "Let me out!", "Is anyone there?", "Help me!"The visitor approaches; the knocking and shouting are no longer heard, but a low, hesitant voice says, "Is there anyone back there...?" The visitor arrives in front of the door: no more noises can be heard. The visitor opens the door (the light above the door goes out) and sees a person immersed in the darkness, watching them and fearfully retreating until they disappear into the darkness—beyond the door, everything is dark, and only the man walking away can be seen.The visitor leaves the door, which automatically closes, and the light comes back on. When the visitor leaves and reaches a certain distance, the sounds of punching on the door and screaming begin again from the door.
A - visitor detection camera
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B - door opening sensor
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C - projector
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D - speaker