Paestum, Temple of Neptune comes alive with video mapping by Alessandra Franco

A videomapping show animates the Temple of Neptune in Paestum. It is called Glaukos and it is a video installation by artist Alessandra Franco, who uses as a screen canvas for her creation precisely the Temple of Neptune with the aim of generating a link between the evanescence of light and contemporary art to celebrate the architecture, art and rituals of ancient Greece. “Glaukos” in fact means “brilliant” in ancient Greek: the term is meant to evoke the disruptive force of light that has always counteracted and banished darkness: a strong simile and a message of hope and rebirth for the whole world against the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The work will be shown to visitors to the Paestum Archaeological Park every evening during the months of August and September at dusk: animations telling the stories of ancient myth will come to life on the Doric architecture of the Temple of Neptune, to take visitors on a journey that, thanks to technology, lets them glimpse the polychromes peculiar to ancient public buildings, presents the protagonists of the metopes found at the Temple of Hera at Foce Sele and highlights certain figures such as Medusa, the gorgon with a head covered in snakes who has the power to petrify anyone who crosses her gaze. Among the images are also glimpses of the famous sculptures from the temple of Artemis in Corfu that occupy the temple’s tympanum with the clear intent to ward off negative influences: a desirable act today as in the past.

With her work, artist Alessandra Franco wants to fully exploit the potential of video-mapping and shaped projection on the stone of the temple to evoke not only the colors, but also the sound suggestions and music of the past, including through the contemporary interpretation of the space and the monument to make the dialogue between contemporary and archaeology ever more fruitful. “Glaukos” is a narrative created expressly for Paestum, a visual experience designed to engage all the senses and activate silent architecture.

Paestum, Temple of Neptune comes alive with video mapping by Alessandra Franco

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