YUVAL AVITAL

“With Il Bestiario della Terra (The Bestiary of the Earth), the artist tackles the sense of incompleteness felt by man, a feeling that is transformed into a propulsive drive to research and discover the innermost folds of the ego, in a hybridisation or contamination with the 'bestial' aspect inherent in each of us. Where does humanity end and bestiality begin? Where does the monster hide, and above all who is he? The artist seeks to answer these questions in a multifaceted experiential and multimedia process, consisting of dozens of new works including performances, video art, visual and photographic works, sculptures, scores, theatrical staging and installations.”

Written by Federica Porro

“Entering the Musei Civici in Reggio Emilia, these unions coexist within an unconventional vision: 'Anatomie squisite' is in fact the first monographic exhibition that opens the programme, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature that distinguishes the artist. Taking inspiration from the Surrealists' exquisite corpses, Avital has created a series of grotesque and imaginary creatures: collaborating with different artistic and craft realities of the territory in the sign of relational art, the museum's showcases are enriched with drawings, paintings and installations that explore the mysterious areas where animal and human meet, losing themselves in a dream that extends to everyday life. Then the taxidermies from the Civic Museums' collection are also welcomed with astonishment and pleasure. By entering the artist's orbit, they offer a journey through cross-references, hybridisations and interdisciplinary creations. The meta-bodies of these fantastic animals are the fuse of ironic and light-hearted narratives that the spectator can carry on independently with a smile of an art that wisely manages to amuse.”

“Yuval Avital's Anatomie squisiste at the Civic Museums of Reggio Emilia is the exhibition that opens The Bestiary of the Earth of the Reggio Parma Festival: a universe of creatures and creations that take the public on an unprecedented journey through the spaces of the Museums to discover its exquisite anatomies. The exhibition marks a twofold starting point in Avital's investigation of the human-animal: on the one hand it asks "what is a body, an organ? How do we perceive a set of things as a body? What are the boundaries between scientific anatomy and the anatomy of art?"; on the other hand, in the logic that unites the exhibitions in the program, it represents the first stage, that of childhood - i.e. play, dream, amazement, the subconscious.”

Written by Giulia Bassi

“This is how the creator, the eclectic artist Yuval Avital, presents "The Bestiary of the Earth", a project of the Reggio Parma Festival that opens a path, from June to December, of exhibitions, special events, performances, and installations between Parma and Reggio Emilia. Avital asks: "So where does humanity end and bestiality begin? Where is the monster hiding, and above all who is he? The artist attempts to answer these questions in a multifaceted experiential and multimedia process, a true art rite, composed of dozens of new works including performances, videoart, visual and photographic works, sculptures, scores, theatrical staging and installations.”

“Bestiaries, typical medieval treatises collecting descriptions of real and fantastic animals, have always been an iconographic source for artists. Beyond the aesthetic role of friezes and tempera paintings, this type of work conveys complex metaphysical and psychological messages, addressing the themes of good and evil, chaos and order, human and animal identity, reality and dreams. With The Bestiary of the Earth, Avital immerses himself in an unconventional investigation into the sense of incompleteness felt by man, a feeling that is transformed into a propulsive drive to seek out and discover the innermost folds of the Ego, in a hybridization or contamination with the animal nested within each of us.”

“As the starting point of the macro-opera Bestiary of the Earth, project of the year of the Reggio Parma Festival, the artist Yuval Avital has created for the Casa del Suono in Parma The Song of the Zooforo, an unprecedented icono-sound installation. The composition is strongly inspired by the bas-reliefs of the Zooforo by Benedetto Antelami sculpted on the walls of the Baptistery of Parma, whose creatures, both real and imaginary, transposed by Avital into a graphic score, were made to be interpreted by the children of the Ernesto Balducci municipal infant school of Reggio Emilia, in a mimic action of voice. Their verses echo inside a monumental material sculpture that the public is invited to enter. Made from hundreds of metres of hand-dyed fabric, it symbolises a female womb understood as the manifestation of a principle from which every being, whether human or animal, comes.” Read more...

“The exhibition marks a twofold point of departure in Yuval Avital's investigation of the human-animal; on the one hand, it asks: "what is a body, an organ? How do we perceive a set of things as a body? What are the boundaries between scientific anatomy and the anatomy of art?"; on the other hand, in the logic that unites the exhibitions in the program, it represents the first stage, that of childhood - hence play, dream, wonder, the subconscious.”

“The exhibition marks a twofold point of departure in Avital's investigation of the human-animal; on the one hand, it asks: "what is a body, an organ? How do we perceive a set of things as a body? What are the boundaries between scientific anatomy and the anatomy of art?"; on the other hand, in the logic that unites the exhibitions in the program, it represents the first stage, that of childhood - hence play, dream, wonder, the subconscious.” Read more…

“Avital, with “Il Bestiario della Terra”, dives into an unconventional investigation about the sense of incompleteness felt by humans, a feeling which turns into a propulsive thrust to look for and discover the innermost fold of the Ego, in a hybridization or contamination with the animal nested in each of us. So where does humanity end and where does bestiality begin? Where is the monster hiding and, above all, who is it? The artist tries to answer to these questions through a multifaceted, experiential and multimedia process, a real artistic ritual composed by dozens of unpublished works, from performances, videoart, visual and photographic works to sculptures, scores, theatrical staging and installations.” Read more…

“This is how "Bestiary of the Earth" was born, that will be showcased in Parma and Reggio Emilia from June to December 2022, a powerful and evocative revisitation of the traditions that have strongly characterised the artistic, religious and scientific culture of this part of Emilia since the Middle Ages. The project, of great expressive capacity, is realised in close collaboration with the three theatre foundations that are members of the Reggio Parma Festival, Fondazione I Teatri di Reggio Emilia, Fondazione Teatro Regio di Parma and Fondazione Teatro Due di Parma, with which the artist has shared the elaboration and definition of every single activity, in a virtuous interpenetration of talents and professions.” Read more…