YUVAL AVITAL

Written by Carla Macrì

“The creative dominus of The Bestiary of the Earth, Yuval Avital, has in fact developed exhibitions accompanied by music and immersive moments that often break the physical boundary between the work and the spectator, to allow the latter to walk, sit, meditate or mirror himself within the work. Evidence of the transversal and multidisciplinary aspect of the project was delivered at the end of the press conference through the inauguration of Anatomie squisite, a participatory monographic exhibition in close dialogue with fossils, stuffed animals and objects belonging to the collection of the Civic Museums, in particular the collection of Lazzaro Spallanzani. It is also participatory because the veins and arteries that emerge from the rooms of the Museum have been created thanks to the scenic and tailoring skills of the Fondazione i Teatri di Reggio Emilia. It is a brightly coloured and contrasting exhibition characterised by the presence of hybrid creatures and materials, with a surrealist and disturbing appearance that make us reflect on the complex functionality of the human body and the organs that compose it. During the day, the sound installation Il Canto dello Zooforo was inaugurated at the Casa del Suono and Chiesa di Sant'Elisabetta in Parma. The title comes from the bas-reliefs of Benedetto Antelami's Zooforo, the source of inspiration for Avital's graphic score interpreted by the voices of the children of the Balducci municipal infant school in Reggio Emilia. It is a monumental material sculpture resembling a female belly that welcomes spectators inside it to experience an impromptu moment of profound reconnection with themselves. The work stems from a question posed by the artist: "in the womb are we already human?". Entering inside the installation implies an attempt to glimpse that union between man and animal through a journey towards a deep and forgotten self. The external part of the installation features another composition inspired by St. Francis' Canticle of the Creatures, performed by the Children's Voices Choir of the Parma Theatre.”