140 loudspeakers, performance, video projection and light (light object by Enzo Cattelani)

The artwork hosted in addition a dialogue with the Third Paradise by Michelangelo Pistoletto

Milan EXPO 2015, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan, 2015

“When we are dealing with Yuval Avital (…) it is better to see and hear rather than to describe.A must-see, even more than once”
(Rolling Stone magazine, Italy, July 2015)

“a poetic installation full with emotions (…) It is difficult to tell what strikes you more in this technological anthropological forest”
(La Stampa daily, Italy, 22 August 2015)

“A magnificent installation (…) Il Terzo Paradiso by Michelangelo Pistoletto meets one of Avital’s multimedia creations which redefines the space into a synthetic, highly allegorical and poetic tribute to ‘Motherhood’ in all its inclinations.”
(SKY Arte magazine, Italy, July 2015)

Alma Mater is a vast, iconic installation of sound, light, video, design, craft and art, evoking ancient symbols of motherhood. A powerful experience of “joy and awe”, it presents a metaphor of femininity through a ‘forest’ of 140 loudspeakers mostly in sphere or cylindric shape, made of clay, stone, marble, cement, or raw cones; a technological womb uniting voices of grandmothers worldwide – chants, lullabies, fairytales, mantras, whispers and song – together with sounds of ‘mother nature’, from seismic vibrations and volcanoes, to oceans and water drops.

First presented during EXPO 2015 in Milan at La Fabbrica del Vapore, a major venue for contemporary art and large-scale exhibitions, Alma Mater had transformed the 1200 square meters of the ex-industrial space into a different world, where thousands of visitors came, many lying down to take it all in, sitting on the floor or walking inside the immersive metaphor sonic space.

Alma Mater includes a special re-creation of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s celebrated Il Terzo Paradiso using rural local soil, a stunning light installation created by Enzo Catellani, video featuring the legendary ballet stars Liliana Cosi and Oriella Dorella, and numerous lace masters taking part as live performers. The loudspeakers of Alma Mater were projected and designed by Architettura Sonora.

Alma Mater includes a special re-creation of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s celebrated Il Terzo Paradiso using rural local soil, a stunning light installation created by Enzo Catellani, video featuring the legendary ballet stars Liliana Cosi and Oriella Dorella, and numerous lace masters taking part as live performers. The loudspeakers of Alma Mater were projected and designed by Architettura Sonora

The overwhelming soundscape is an outcome of a two-years-long composition and research process, and was produced in collaboration with international scholars, universities, musicology and anthropology centers.

Frames from the video art by Yuval Avital ©2015: