Mandopera

In June, 2017, we visited the northern Italian village of Morterone (the nation’s smallest municipality). There, we created a sculpture and sound installation for the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea all’Aperto di Morterone. The work was installed and launched at an opening in early 2021. We are excited to return to Italy eventually to visit it.

About the work: The sculpture and sound installation “Manodopera” evokes the human labor involved in constructing the village of Morterone. The sound installation layers environmental textures and the sounds of a person carrying four stones from a riverbed in the Sorgente Forbesette to mark the corners of a home. The work negotiates with the material durability of labor and its acoustic ephemerality. It is dedicated to the memory of the late poet Carlo Invernizzi, whose voice rises through the soundscape.

Listen to a 7-minute excerpt of the sound installation here:

Mandopera (2017/2021)

River rocks and sound installation
Duration: 39 minutes
Collection of the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea all’Aperto di Morterone