Dates: 20 June - 20 September, 2018
Location: Via Malta 21 (Piazza Borsa), 90133 Palermo, Sicily, Italy
"Cassata Drone" (#CD; #CassataDrone) is an independent exhibition involving RAQS Media Collective, Maria D Rapicavoli and Stefano Cagol in a historical building attic, leaning because of a WWII bomb. CD is conceived by g. olmo stuppia and curated by Giovanni Rendina.
The exhibition is open from the 20th of June to the 20th of September 2018 (opening June 14th and private visits from June 15th to 19th) in Palermo where the three artists will be interacting with one room, while each transforming them into three different immersive installations. Cassata Drone problematizes Sicilian linguistic and culinary tradition (cassata, from the Arabic quas ’at) in relation to its geopolitical and military culture, from the post-war period to the pre- sent (drone). On the one hand, Sicilian Cassata becomes the focus for a visual investigation of decoration, taste and language. Cassata siciliana is a traditional sweet from all areas of Sicily, born in Palermo. Cassata consists of round sponge cake moistened with fruit juices or liqueur and layered with ricotta cheese and candieds (which are also cannoli’s filling). On the other, the word Drone opens a space for transforming the presence of military devices (Frontex, Hawk Drone, Predator Drone, MUOS) into aesthetic forms, making Sicily a natural strategic “aircraft carrier” in the Mediterranean Sea.
For "Cassata Drone" MDR (Maria D. Rapicavoli) has realized a site specific installation, Crooked Incline, using white porcelain sculptural elements. Shaped like plumb lines, they are suspended from the ceiling. This work is inspired by a historical event that modified the building hosting the exhibition. Dropped in 1943 by the Allied Forces, a bomb deformed the building bending it on one side. The perceivable incline produces a slight disorientation to whom access the space. Her installation is based on this sense of instability and displacement caused by the structure. MDR’s intervention transforms the exhibition space into an airspace. The ceramics position reproduces tactical air zones from a military Sicily map where only military drones can fly.
