VISIO. RESISTING THE TROUBLE
Moving Images in Times of Crisis

“Any construction of new alternatives or potential worlds can only begin by its creative imagination” T.J. Demos

The ecological balance of our planet is becoming ever more fragile and compromised. The health emergency of COVID-19 is simply a more obvious consequence of a global crisis that has developed in environmental, social, political, and economic spheres. The pandemic has made us more aware of the fragility of our biological existence, undermining our sense of community, and magnifying our fear of everything that is Other. In the past year, electronic devices have been more indispensable than ever before in keeping us connected. However, at the same time they have become the primary transmitters of an uncontrolled flow of images and information which has profoundly altered our perception of reality. Our everyday lives have been disrupted, and freedoms and privileges that we had taken for granted have been progressively lost or limited. This condition has accentuated and made more obvious economic and social inequalities, making them more and more intolerable, and rage has transformed into widespread revolt and protest. The need to rethink the capitalist model, and our relationship with the environment and the other species which inhabit the planet, now seems to be the only possibility for avoiding the risk of an imminent ecological catastrophe.

The exhibit presents twelve films, videos, and installations which reflect on some of the most urgent questions generated by the current worldwide crisis, and propose alternative visions that rethink the present and imagine the future. During lockdown, moving images, more than any other artistic medium, showed their intrinsic capacity to overcome the limitations of the exhibition space, by taking advantage of new technologies at our disposal. In this context of uncertainty and precariousness, can art represent a tool of resistance to combat the alienation and isolation that we are subject to? How can we avoid a dystopian future, in which physical relationships are at risk of being entirely relegated to the digital dimension? In what way can we regain an active role in the process of change, basing it on the values of diversity, respect, and solidarity? The exhibit asks questions about the possibility of imagining inclusive models of coexistence that could succeed in dismantling existing power structures, and overcome the consolidated canons and stereotypes linked to competition and exploitation among living beings.

Resisting the Trouble – Moving Images in Times of Crisis brings together the work of twelve artists under age 35 who participated in the ninth edition of VISIO. European Programme on Artists’ Moving Images, a project promoted and produced by Lo schermo dell’arte Film Festival. Participants were selected from an international open call, and thus far 100 artists based in Europe have participated in the program. Resisting the Trouble – Moving Images in Times of Crisis continues the research path of Lo schermo dell’arte on the artistic practice of artists under 35, which began with five previous exhibitions organized at Palazzo Strozzi (2019 and 2015); Le Murate PAC (2018); Palazzo Medici Riccardi (2017); and Cinema La Compagnia (2016).