VIS MAJOR - Vulcano Extravaganza

The work unfolds across two spaces.

For two and a half weeks I worked with a small group of women from the island. Together we studied the vocal structure of the piece and rehearsed the performance. The church on the main square of Stromboli holds the entire history of a limited territory, its births, its deaths, its repetitions. Inside, standing before the altar, we sang Wrong by Depeche Mode, a cappella. We faced the altar throughout. Only during the final repetition did we slowly turn towards the congregation.

We wore black garments with open backs. In the interior of a functioning church, where Mass is still celebrated, our exposed skin became a visible surface of time. The decay of the body, its posture, its age, silently narrated the biographies of the women standing there. Each back a confession. Each year carried in the flesh.

After the final note we left the church and walked together through the village towards Casa 41, at the foot of the volcano.

Inside, a fire was already burning. A large pot, blackened by years of use, sat directly on the fire. Inside, tomato sauce was left to boil continuously - red, slow, volcanic. Unlike the previous version of the work, the food was not meant to be eaten. It remained as heat, colour and odour: the island present in the room.

Dressed in black, the women and I echoed the colour of the volcanic soil. The island, the church, the fire, the few bodies present, everything pointed to the same condition: a small territory, a limited number of lives, an error sung together until the end.