Water as told by contemporary artists. An exhibition at Villa Medici in Rome

From Oct. 4, 2024 to Jan. 13, 2025, the Academy of France in Rome-Villa Medici is hosting an exhibition that revolves around the theme of water through the works of some 30 contemporary artists. Curated by Caroline Courrioux and Sam Stourdzé, the exhibition entitled The Song of the Sirens. Water Told by Artists aims to follow the water cycle, from submerged civilizations to ritual practices via the murky waters of trade routes. The hybrid figure of the mermaid, sometimes malefic and sometimes protective, half-woman, half-animal, plays the role of guide to navigate between these worlds, from the depths to the surface. Her ambivalence resonates with that of water, a space of metamorphosis between waters of youth and funereal waters.

The exhibition aims to invite visitors to explore the different states of water as seen through the gaze of artists (about thirty internationally renowned contemporary artists, who have specially created ten works for the occasion, among other exhibits), from its representation to its political implications, from an asset turned into a resource to a metaphorical search for its source. Immersion in this liquid world opens up a universe of contradictions in an age when tales of water’s origins are mixed with those that fear future scenarios, where water poses a threat by its flooding or total scarcity, and sea levels rise while rivers dry up. With its infinite forms-rain, sea, drop, dew, stream, cloud, mist and tears-water is the essential source of all life. Diverted, exploited and polluted, it has now become a fundamental element of the current ecological crisis.

Water is in crisis, artists remind us as they navigate from the polluted waters of cities to the straits of natural spaces, decrying its death, tacitly or otherwise, for our reckless use of it and engaging in a critical conversation about our collective responsibility to preserve it. Reclaiming land, flowing and rediscovering the magical properties of water to rethink our world: this is the thread the exhibition invites us to follow.

The artists featured in the exhibition: Monira Al Qadiri, Mounir Ayache, Younes Ben Slimane, Alix Boillot, Bianca Bondi, Hera Büyüktaşcıyan, Madison Bycroft, Alex Cecchetti, Gaëlle Choisne, Jumana Emil Abboud, Klodin Erb, Simone Fattal, Rose - Lynn Fisher, Estrid Lutz, Yiannis Maniatakos, Lou Masduraud, Raffaela Naldi Rossano, Dala Nasser, Valentin Noujaïm, Ariana Papademetropoulos, Laure Prouvost, Pamela Rosenkranz, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Bassem Saad, Chiyuki Sakagami, Himali Singh Soin , Emilija Škarnulytė, Aïcha Snoussi, Kusukazu Uraguch.

For info: www.villamedici.it

Water as told by contemporary artists. An exhibition at Villa Medici in Rome

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