Gaza Opera Viva ​

by Alessandro Bulgini

curated by Christian Caliandro

​Pav. B - ground floor, stand 4-5

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Since its beginning sixteen years ago, Alessandro Bulgini's project, 'Opera Viva', has always tried  to draw attention to what is neglected, marginalised and overlooked through the artist's subtle presence and actions.

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In this sense, the red 'uniform' acts as a signal or indicator, representing a potential connection, an essential yet fragile link. As Giulio Paolini wrote, the artist becomes the bearer of the work, and the work itself becomes the context or acts in relationship with the context.

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The reflection deepens here, and the context becomes the most tragic and significant event of this century. As it has already been said, written and recited over and over again, 'We thought we were liberating Gaza, but it is Gaza that is liberating us'. Over the last two years, that place — that strip of land, that tormented space — has come to represent much more than its physical boundaries. It became  a potent symbol of injustice, of the abuse of power and of oppression.

Seeing Bulgini's red T-shirt in different city centres (Milan, Rome and Turin) and at contemporary art fairs (Art Basel and miart) creates a connection that is simultaneously a detachment and a distance. It is the gap between a world of tourism, creativity and economics that seems intent on carrying on as if nothing has happened. It is  a  trace, both memory and symptom of something that has gone terribly wrong. It is out of place and always will be. Like all repressed things – and like the sailing boat with the Palestinian flag in the first room –  it will return again and again and again...

 

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It is almost always inappropriate for Westerners to speak on behalf of Palestinians, just as it is  to hear older people talk about or  speak for  the young generation. Therefore, this project would not have been complete without the billboards in Piazza Bottesini. This year, for the Stargate to G4z4 edition, the project gathers and features photos taken directly from the Gaza Strip. Since 2016, this poster has been both a window and a gap. It is an interstice that helps us glance at  what has been and what is to come' (Christian Caliandro). This has been particularly true in the last few  months.  The 14 images offer us glimpses of humble and neglected lives, while providing visual evidence of resilience and resistance, because 'art must be a mediator between here and elsewhere' (Alessandro Bulgini). 

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The artist would like to thank Associazione Our Voice, the Palestinian Community of Palermo, Amal Khayal from Gaza, and all the photographers of Opera Viva Barriera di Milano, il Manifesto - Stargate to G4z4: Jacopo Intini (Gaza NGO collaborator), Majed Abu Shala, Randa Abu Ramadan, Haya Saqer, Ahmed Akkila, Intisar Ibrahim, Amal Khayal and Amira Khayal.

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Passing by

by Carl von Pfeil

Video installation, Work in progress, 39'26''

​Pav. B - ground floor, nursery

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 ​Visual and sound artist Carl von Pfeil presents two complementary installations, one responding to the other. 'Passing by' explores movement horizontally, while 'Unconscious Elevation' moves vertically between gravity and ascent. "Passing by" is projected onto a door's glass, transforming the physical threshold into a mirror of perceptual transit. Images flow as if seen from a windscreen - landscapes, passing figures and changing environments - but it is the space itself that moves within the viewer's mind, causing the boundary between inside and outside to dissolve.is a sound installation rooted in the idea of inner ascent.

  

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Unconscious elevation

by Carl von Pfeil

Music installation, 2025, 61'22''

​PAV. B - elevator

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The title alludes to the anti-shock position - that moment when, lying on our back with legs raised, one tries to restore their blood flow. It’s a symbol, a metaphor for the return of vital energy to the heart and mind. The work unfolds as a long sound piece that, through a blend of noises and spoken word, stirs the listener’s imagination.

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Veracruz Tattoo

Massimiliano Chironna and Francesco Sampugnaro

performance

​Pav. B - 2° floor stand 51

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Alessandro Bulgini transforms a space at the second floor of Flashback Flashback into a living art laboratory: every day, two artists from the Barriera di Milano neighbourhood - Massimiliano Chironna and Francesco Sampugnaro - create tattoos live, in dialogue with a drawing by George Grosz that reflects on the body as a surface of identity.

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