What's left of us, What will remain of me
The exhibition 'What Remains of Us, What Will Remain of Me' by Ruben Montini (Oristano, 1986) will be hosted at the Regional Ethnographic Museum 'Luigi Cocco Collection' within the Citadel of Museums. The exhibition will be open to visitors until April 14th.
Curated by the Director of the Isre Museums, Efisio Carbone, Ruben Montini's exhibition 'What Remains of Us, What Will Remain of Me' features four carpets that engage in a dialogue between contemporary art and traditional craftsmanship. The project aims to create a refined and profound dialogue between the artist's contemporary production and the anthropological and ethnographic themes of the Cocco Collection. The exhibition critically explores the meanings of conservation, preservation, and cultural memory, questioning ethnographic museums and their practices in a post-colonial vision.
The project revolves around reflection on the traces left by communities and the legacy of gestures and traditions that connect us to the past. The artist addresses the theme of conserving cultural heritage, where historical memory and tradition are never static but continually interwoven with the present, renewing in a dynamic and regenerative process. The four carpets demonstrate the artistic practice of regeneratively recovering traditional textile craftsmanship, as well as the concept of subjective-collective brilliantly expressed by Maria Lai in her view of artwork as a solo act reflecting centuries of collective experiences.
'What Remains of Us, What Will Remain of Me' is not just an exhibit of artifacts but a visual and conceptual experience that calls upon viewers to reflect on the permanence and evolution of traditions. The concept of subjectivity and collectivity is embodied in the four carpets, serving as symbols of a 'regenerative recovery' of textile traditions. Three of them, titled 'What Remains of Us,' are made of wool using the typical pibiones technique by skilled weavers of the Su Trobasciu Cooperative in Mogoro, a small town in Sardinia preserving this ancient tradition. The fourth carpet, 'What Will Remain of Me,' is crafted in brocade, a more complex textile technique symbolic of an even older Sardinian artisan tradition. The Su Trobasciu Textile Cooperative, founded in 1978 in Mogoro, Sardinia, represents a unique model of female textile craftsmanship, blending tradition and innovation to enhance the local cultural heritage.
These carpets are not mere decorative items but carry stories of community and artistic practices intertwined with the artist's experiences, translating into a visual language that bridges past and present, collective memory and individual experience. Within a space holding the past like the Luigi Cocco Collection, Montini's carpet installation and reflection on memory prompt us to reconsider our relationship with cultural heritage, posing the thought-provoking question, 'What remains of us?'
The exhibition is part of the project 'HANGING - SUSPENDED: Carpets and Tapestries in the thoughts and hands of artisans, artists, and designers,' featuring a series of solo exhibitions by designers and artists in collaboration with local textile craftsmen and cooperatives. Nietta Condemi De Felice, Annalisa Cocco, Paulina Herrera Letelier will showcase their textile projects at the Sardinian Ethnographic Museum 'Luigi Cocco Collection' until September 2025. The exhibition setups are overseen by Architect Giovanni Filindeu with Smart Allestimenti.
Where: Collezione Luigi Cocco (Museo Etnografico) , Piazza Arsenale c/o Cittadella dei Musei
Opening times: 16-03-2025 - 13-04-2025 - Tue/Sun - from 10am until 20pm
Closed on Monday
Prices:
Full € 3.00
Reduced (over 65) € 2.00
Free for less abled peoples
