Maurizio Cattelan's new intervention: a crocodile hanging in Cremona Baptistery

A large taxidermied crocodile hanging from the vault of Cremona’s Baptistery: this is Ego, the work Maurizio Cattelan brought to the Lombard city for the first edition of Cremona Contemporanea Art Week, the Cremonese art week that began the day before yesterday, May 26, and runs until June 4. This is not an unprecedented work: in fact, Ego dates back to 2019, but it is already causing discussion in the city.

An intervention reminiscent of the Wunderkammer of the seventeenth century but also of certain churches in the area (such as the Santuario delle Grazie in Curtatone, with its famous crocodile hanging from the ceiling), Ego bears this title because, for Maurizio Cattelan, the crocodile is a kind of self-portrait, which he currently considers the closest to his personality. It is a work that stands in close relation to The Ninth Hour, the famous work featuring Pope John Paul II struck by the meteorite: Ego in fact was first exhibited together with the very famous work precisely in 2019, during Cattelan’s solo exhibition at Blenheim Palace in Oxford (it was on that occasion that America, another celebrated work by Cattelan, that of the golden toilet, was stolen ): the juxtaposition, according to the artist, could be read as a “visual association of two sacrifices.”

Taxidermy has always been central to Cattelan’s practice: just think of Novecento, the horse hanging from the ceiling, which can be seen at the Castello di Rivoli. Taxidermy is a way to show, according to Cattelan, the way animals are perceived. The same goes for the crocodile: “crocodiles,” Cattelan explained on the occasion of the 2019 exhibition, speaking with curator Michael Frahm, “have been protagonists of rituals, religions, magical beliefs, urban legends. They are creatures that both frighten and fascinate and have been deeply symbolic since the beginning of humanity.” And now, this strange creature can be seen by all, hanging inside the Cremona Baptistery.

.

.

Maurizio Cattelan's new intervention: a crocodile hanging in Cremona Baptistery

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.