Exhibition promoted by the Department of Culture of the City of Rome and Azienda Speciale Palaexpo
Organized by Azienda Speciale Palaexpo in collaboration wih Latitudo
Realised with the support of Instituto Cervantes di Roma and Lithuanian Culture Institute
The exhibition Corpus Naturae, currently taking place at Pavilion 9b of the Mattatoio in Rome, offers a fascinating intergenerational dialogue between two extraordinary artists: Tomaso Binga (Bianca Pucciarelli Menna), born in Salerno in 1931, and María Ángeles Vila Tortosa, born in Valencia in 1978. This encounter explores how their works, while seemingly distant, express radically different visions of reality, and they challenge the conventions of patriarchal and anthropocentric dominance in modernity.
Moreover, the central theme of this exhibition is the language of plants, which symbolizes a deep connection between body and nature. María Ángeles Vila Tortosa uses printmaking not only to highlight the importance of plants in daily life but also to emphasize their role in domestic care and primal connections with humanity. On the other hand, the works of Tomaso Binga, which have been active from the 1970s to the present, underscore the intimate relationship between nature, art, and the female body. In this context, Binga reveals a profound adherence to her gender identity while simultaneously challenging centuries-old practices of subjugation.
In addition, the exhibition invites reflection on our relationship with the Earth and the plant world, proposing a biocentric view of the universe. It draws inspiration from the studies of archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, who highlighted the sacred aspects associated with nature and femininity. Gimbutas contributed significantly to the awareness that the Earth was once revered as a Mother Goddess, thereby suggesting the necessity for a cyclical understanding of the universe.
Consequently, the Earth, viewed as Mother Earth, becomes the linguistic context that guides the exhibition’s exploration, awakening a renewed attention towards the plant world, which is in harmony with natural and seasonal rhythms. The works of Vila Tortosa and Binga intertwine their essence with that of nature, ultimately revealing an existence woven with complex relationships.
In Tomaso Binga’s work, the body functions not only as language but also transforms into a desemantized grapheme, evoking vegetal elements. Her Dattilocodici interact seamlessly with Vila Tortosa’s Herbario Doméstico, a monumental piece composed of over a hundred elements. Here, while Binga’s body becomes language, in Vila Tortosa’s works, the plants take on corporeal form, thereby creating a new visual grammar.
Furthermore, a central element of the exhibition is the “pregnant” body of Nature, which fosters dialogue. Through a conceptual reversal, some of Vila Tortosa’s plant prints are utilized to create a wallpaper that pays homage to Binga’s historical work, Carta da parato, casa Malangone from 1976. This exhibition space becomes symbolic; the Mattatoio, which is a historically androcentric place where the body is commodified, now hosts a vision of openness and welcome. In doing so, it invites deep reflection on the cyclicality of nature and the regenerative power of plants.
To complete the exhibition experience, a double interview with the two artists was conducted by Monkeys Video Lab during the working months. The exhibition catalog, published by Quodlibet, includes texts by the curator, Giuseppe Garrera, and Ilaria Gianni, along with a contribution dedicated to Marija Gimbutas by Lithuanian art critic Laima Kreivyte.
