ANDREA MASTROVITO
VERY BAD THINGS
VERY BAD THINGS
Rome, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
June 18 – September 29, 2019
Installation views: Courtesy La Galleria Nazionale, Rome
Curated by Ilaria Bernardi
In this solo show Andrea Mastrovito (Bergamo, 1978) focuses his attention on the eternal question of the complex relationship between the woman and man and power. To do this, the artist covers five stained glass windows in the museum with colored rulers where he draws five different scenes, freely inspired by stories that, although very distant in space and time, share the theme of sexual harassment: the biblical episode of Susanna and the Elders, one of the oldest tales on the subject; up to date involving the daily news and the #MeToo movement, such as the controversial story of Ambra Battilana Gutierrez; the fairy tale of Daphne, who turned into a plant in order to escape Apollo’s ardent love, whom she rejected, and many others.
Very Bad Things draws free inspiration from several stories in order to outline an ambiguous narrative of fantasy, in which the depicted characters are symbolic, unidentified and unidentifiable. The reality of the facts, despite the underlying violence, is hidden among the different reading levels to lead the visitor to reflect on the recurrence of the harassment of women of every age, and how, very often, it is difficult to prove the truth of the facts.