epitelio

epitelio, or epithelium, is the result of a slow and structured process: the coloured plaster of two rooms of an old abandoned hospital has been carefully removed and relocated to the ex hospital of the incurables (currently the seat of the academy of fine arts of venice). the thin pictorial pellicle, laid out evenly on the entire surface of the floor of a room, becomes pulverised by visitors entering and walking around. the colour will turn into pigment, which in turn will be mixed with water and rabbit glue, reaching a different, ulterior state, the product and means of a new interaction: the colour will characterise the walls of the room. the pictorial carrier here becomes the expression of a relationship between man and environment, a certain “taking care”.

nowadays it’s possible to explore the world as a continuous series of interactions, rather than objects. epitelio is, thus, the surface layer of an animal body, the territory of relation. but more precisely, epitelio is, originally, the layer of skin covering the nipple. the place where the interaction is nourishment.