Mascheroni e porte alchemiche

From the most archaic origins of local symbolism to the present-day identity elements of a territory. This was the path of research in which the citizens of Rutigliano (Ba) were involved from April 16 to 30, as part of the participatory public art project “Pittosculture figuline”, funded through the STHAR LAB call of the Apulia Region, entrusted by the Municipality of Rutigliano to the cultural association Pigment Workroom and carried out in collaboration with Cime and APS Ziczic, with the special participation of the artists Vito Moccia and Marco Barbieri, known as Dem.

The project led to the creation by the artists of two urban murals on the mirrored walls of the Settanni-Manzoni Primary School in Rutigliano. Multifaceted and ironic, Dem’s works—ranging from wall painting to illustration and installation—are enriched by a symbolic language that invites viewers to develop their own access code to this enigmatic and arcane world. His research always has an anthropological foundation and is rooted in a long study of places before the artistic production itself.

The central and shared theme of the two works is the figula tradition, with Rutigliano being one of the cities most strongly tied, in both identity and history, to sounding ceramics. Vito Moccia and Dem, different in age, background, and artistic training—Moccia, a painter and artist from Rutigliano, renowned for his production of traditional whistles; Dem, a Lombard artist and muralist, known for his multifaceted and ironic style—came together through mural art and urban design, expanding their research into the sculptural dimension as well, with the creation of large masks that became part of the final collective work.

Accessibility: The work is always accessible.

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