Iranian art in the Municipality of Malcesine (Lake Garda) to raise awareness of gender violence. For some months now, the interior and exterior spaces of the Scaligero Castle have been home to installations by the Iranian artist Bahar Heidarzade (Tehran, 1981), who was forced to flee her country to be free of the restrictions that would have been imposed on her if she had returned. The artist herself will be present at the official inauguration with the authorities on Friday 2 August at 6pm in the medieval fortress, which is open to the public and overlooks the waters of the Benaco.
In the late afternoon of the same day, there will be a flash mob through the streets of the city, a jewel of Upper Lake Garda, with papier-mâché boulders symbolically passed from hand to hand. The fil rouge of the exhibition is the theme of memories, heavy as boulders on the bodies and minds of women. Memories are symbolically represented by stones made by the artist from sheets of newspaper containing disturbing news: because negative memories are not only personal, but also those that burden an entire community. The same memories, however, especially those of violence suffered, can become sharing and action, and thus hope. And it is here that they are transformed from heavy boulders into kites capable of lifting the measure of one’s humanity into flight.
The heart of the exhibition is the large immersive installation in the Sala Labia of the Castello Scaligero in Malcesine. At the centre of the room, on the floor, a video is projected showing the artist lying down, crushed by a huge stone. To emphasise how women not only take on the pain of others, but are all too often victims of acts of violence. Above Heidarzade’s body, hanging in space, are dozens of stones, symbolising the mental weight of the stones thrown but stuck in the air.
The flashmob planned for the afternoon of Friday 2 August will follow the Stone XXL performance that the artist has already realised in the cobbled streets of this Borgo. The element of remembrance returns, once again taking the form of an enormous boulder carried through the streets by the artist and those who feel called to come to her aid. Bahar Heidarzade’s performance is the sharing of a struggle, the participation in pain, and the collective release from it. All to emphasise that unity makes it possible not to be crushed by memories.
Exhibition prices and times. The Castello Scaligero in Malcesine is open to the public on the following days and at the following times: from 15 May to 30 September from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., from 1 October to 3 November from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Admission: full price € 6.00, reduced price € 5.00, children (from 6 to 13 years) € 3.00, free from 0 to 5 years.
