L’ora italiana

Isgro’ decided to work exclusively with “round” shapes for this exhibition, radically playing on the circular spaces that are multiplied through the idea of a twin set of objects. Images are obliterated by the color white and clocks are placed in various positions, themselves circular forms that propose a perceptual dynamic based on contrast and the mental absorption of the space. The artist opted for the total, violent and glaring illumination of the exhibition. “Light usually illuminates, but here it blocks sight and the images. I did not design these works to be viewed under sunlight, as the old masters used to do - I created them for the kind of light that now pervades the universe, artificial light; whatever the intensity of the light, the work will be effective, and the black-outs that occasionally occur will further trigger an emotional-communicative level. They contradict the expectation that a work of art should always be viewed in full daylight. The circular shape of the clock is reiterated obsessively, marking its sense of repetition… tick… tock… the beat slows down as the light increases, eventually reaching its acme like a sort of overexposed artificial solstice. At this point, three flashes shoot through the space and the light suddenly blacks out. The darkness is disconcerting. It takes away the security of sight but does not prevent the works from making their unsettling presence felt. The environment loses its consciousness but gains a new one immediately, that which perception can grasp in the expanded darkness. This is where the wait begins, the gift of reawakening, where visitors can gather their thoughts. Then the light returns and regains all its energy. Then another black-out, extremely quick, as quick as the visitors' reactions...”