
Ordito
Site specific Installation and Performance
Embroidery on antique prayer rugs - audio interview - video performance
by A. Pilade
Italy
2008
Decoupage
form photos
'Ordito' the weaving of homosexuality, the theme/pretext of the work, becomes the starting point for a broader reflection on the issues of marginalisation, prejudice, and violation of human rights, which are here forcefully claimed. Three Persian carpets - on which stylized human shapes have been embroidered - cover the floor of the room, and each carpet is equipped with an MP3 player that plays, in a loop, audio testimonials from some of the personalities who are currently fighting for the recognition of homosexual rights.
by Exibart magazine https://www.exibart.com/evento-arte/antonio-pilade-ordito/
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The precious weave of the carpets is traversed by a cross-stitch embroidery that pierces the warp, puncturing it with a needle, and traces a human silhouette in the rigidity of death. Antonio Pilade adds a mark to the soft wool and sumptuous colors that rises like a scar, a thin line of whitened blood. These are the words with which Alessandra Menesini commented on "Ordito," Antonio Pilade's unpublished site-specific project with an undeniable documentary and socio-political flavor. The location used as an exhibition stage provides an evocative -and semantic- backdrop to a work in three parts that becomes a visual -and sound- representation of one of the most controversial topics discussed by humanity. Homosexuality, the theme/pretext of the work, becomes the starting point for a broader reflection on the issues of marginalization, prejudice, and human rights violations that are here -forcefully- claimed. In the name of the sacred, terrible wars have been waged, and it is no longer necessary to remain silent. In the name of the sacred, the identity and freedom of the human being are called into question. It is time to speak the truth, without mincing words, without fear! "The way of intellectual revival and civil rebirth is possible where Westerners and Muslims rediscover the centrality of the person by promoting the values of life." (Magdi Allam, in Corriere della Sera, February 3, 2006). The social history and current events intersect in Antonio Pilade's project, which provokes the viewer using a frank and raw language; it subjects them -first- to emotional shock, to then invite them to listen and meditate. Three Persian carpets -in which stylized human silhouettes have been embroidered- cover the floor of the room, and each carpet is equipped with an MP3 player that plays, in a loop, the audio testimonies of some of the personalities who are currently fighting for the recognition of the rights of homosexuals. Between the sacred and the profane, "Ordito" seems to descend from the "current" narrative that, in the 1990s, brought man back to the center of the stage and saw the tendency -sometimes macabre- to the explicit representation of the "cruelty of man against man" (D. Paparoni) explode. What emerges with urgency is once again the artist's need to tell his time, to show its great contradictions and profound divisions.
by Alessandra Menesini
Bartoli Filter Foundation