binario/binario

the installation consists of two elements, basalt stones laid out on the floor in a circle and a video projection of a rail slowly gliding by, practically cutting the image in two.
the stones were collected from an abandoned railroad on the outskirts of venice and transported one backpack at the time back to the venetian islands. to amass enough material the trip needed to be repeated numerous times, like a type of ritual or even a self imposed punishment reminiscent of that of sisyphus. the layout of the stones creates an empty inner ring, it’s diameter equal to the width of a railway, implying a continuation of its previous function.
in the looped video we see the tracks moving down the projection seemingly suggesting a forward movement. the film is actually shot while moving backwards over the rail but projected in reverse, creating a sort of double negative which in turn generates a positive, forward movement. this ambiguity raises the question; are forward and backward not one and the same? a train operates in that exact manner; front becomes rear and rear becomes front, the end becomes the beginning and the beginning in its turn the end again.

everywhere we look we see mechanisms repeating themselves over and over again and, in fact, time itself can be considered cyclical. binario / binario is a collection of these mechanisms, a showcase of cycles, but most importantly is itself a repetition of that which it contains.