A domanda rispondo is the title of the piece in which Tomaso Binga clearly and unequivocally presents her alphabet, where each letter is narrated through the intertwining of her personal and artistic experiences. The letter T is linked to the title of the work Transumanze creative[1], whose synopsis expresses the desire to return to art as a plural action, useful in revitalizing the community through the constructive exchange of different voices. Following this impulse, the works of Tomaso Binga and María Ángeles Vila Tortosa engage in dialogue, exhibited in the show Corpus Naturae, curated by Benedetta Carpi De Resmini in collaboration with Latitudo, and on display at Mattatoio in Rome until October 13, 2024.
Tomaso Binga, María Ángeles Vila Tortosa, “Corpus Naturae”, installation view, courtesy Latitudo Art Projects, © Monkeys Video Lab
Although their artistic investigations do not fully coincide, they are comparable for their ability to explore, using different techniques, the issue of the female body, language and nature. In delving deeper into this latter theme, the audience is invited to engage with the world of medicinal plants, which both artists explore with piercing truth, drawing parallels between the complexity of the body and its organs, without neglecting its most intimate recesses. Thus, what unfolds in the spaces of Mattatoio is a malleable and fluid narrative path, marked by infinite variations and specific connections between physical geography and the plant world. The exhibition also features paintings, videos, sculptures, sound and environmental installations, which follow one another in a naturally rich dialogue of energies. While María Ángeles Vila Tortosa strikes powerfully with the primitive and inclusive nature of her work towards all forms of vegetation, highlighting inequalities rather than flattening them, Tomaso Binga, subtly engages the viewer’s eye and ear with works marked by an intelligent and seemingly innocent irony.
Tomaso Binga, María Ángeles Vila Tortosa, “Corpus Naturae”, installation view, courtesy Latitudo Art Projects, © Monkeys Video Lab
Furthermore, the project reveals how this research approach is out of step with contemporary times, as it compares, balances, juxtaposes and bravely narrows the gap between the two productions. Overall, Tomaso Binga’s works reveal a common thread that follows the relativity principle: each piece unveils the primordial connection between the body and nature, revealing new semantic layers that stimulate both mental and visual attention. Particularly noteworthy, for their critical participatory impact and the absence of distinction between the poetic, visual and auditory, are the works Alfabeto Officinale, A/Z, and Mater/Madre, in which an ironic and demystifying play on the body and language is established. In fact, in both cases, the works cannot be considered autonomous elements; instead, requiring a narrative and spatial fluidity, they exist beyond their descriptive writing.
Tomaso Binga, “Alfabeto Officinale, A/Z”, 1980-1983, print on paper, 29 x 20,50 cm each one, Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, courtesy Galleria Erica Ravenna, © Paola Farfaglio
Thus, what is most captivating about these works is undoubtedly their ability to address the issue of the physicalization of the female body, understood as an action that opens itself to writing in the same way as a gymnastic exercise. Yet, as one follows the wall of the alphabet, the words confront us with the question of whether one must truly answer when asked, inviting us to recite the letters aloud to discover their infinite connections. In this way, for Binga, the power of thought’s transferability does not align with the repetition of linguistic constructs; rather, it frees itself from all rules to transform writing into an existential question. Indeed, from the inexhaustible richness of the corporeal phrasing that characterizes the project, emerges an artist who, by natural inclination, pursues a poetic path, touching on the themes of femininity, body, language, words and voice, with the goal of urging the viewer to decode and connect the most immediate meanings while also uncovering the less obvious ones.
María Ángeles Vila Tortosa, “Abrazos”, 2021, linoleum print on sheets, 14 elements, 270 x 288 cm (each one), courtesy María Ángeles Vila Tortosa, © Monkeys Video Lab
On the contrary, Vila Tortosa’s work stands at the opposite pole, with her entire production imbued with an underground energy, something primordial that invites us to imagine her pieces originating from a fertile, untamed prairie. Indeed, the typical hues of barren earth, combined with the raw natural execution due to the roughness of the imagery, lead the artist to define the atmospheres and the coarse outlines of flowers, herbs, bulbs, and fruits. Even in this case, all the exhibited works reveal a distinctly physical, almost bodily, relationship that the artist establishes with the vegetal substances of creation. In fact, it is evident that in each work there are multiple layers of investigation and interpretation, summarized in the contrast between image and word, thus inviting us to study, rather than simply understand, the body, laden as it is with suggestive complexity. Additionally, the natural elements, by framing the physical terminology, reinforce the nomenclature that affirms the relationship between the body and the shrub.
María Ángeles Vila Tortosa, “Gravida Radix, Bulbosa radix, Mandragora officinarum circularis”, mixed media on paper and canvas, 2024, © Monkeys Video Lab, courtesy the Artist
However, for the artist, the absolute protagonist is the organ, which is presented as a fundamental part of the exhibition. For instance, the ovaries are reproduced in life-size, becoming tactile sculptures-welcoming and inviting, despite their inability to be physically traversed. Overall, Vila Tortosa’s works stand out for their ‘rhizomatic’ nature, as they embody the same depth as the roots’ filaments, allowing one to perceive, see, and understand things down to their origins, to the point where nature and the body rediscover their common essence. Thus, what Binga’s statement A domanda rispondo stimulates is a logical question, whose answer lies in the infinite combinatorial possibilities explored by Vila Tortosa between the plant world, the body, and the alphabet, suggesting that no answer is truly owed to any question.
Maria Vittoria Pinotti
[1] Antonello Tolve, Tomaso Binga, dalla A alla Z, Postmedia Books, 2024, p. 46
Info:
Tomaso Binga e María Ángeles Vila Tortosa, Corpus Naturae
Curated by Benedetta Carpi De Resmini
13/09/2024 – 13/09/2024
Pavilion 9b, MATTATOIO
Piazza Orazio Giustiniani, 4, 00153 Roma
Open Tuesday to Sunday: 11am – 8pm. Closed on Mondays
Maria Vittoria Pinotti (1986, San Benedetto del Tronto) is an art historian, author, and independent critic. She currently is the coordinator of Claudio Abate’s photographic archive and Manager at Elena Bellantoni’s Studio. From 2016 to 2023 she was the Gallery Manager in a gallery in the historic center of Rome. She has worked with ministerial offices such as the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture and the Central State Archive. Currently, she collaborates with cultural sector magazines, focusing on in-depth thematic studies dedicated to modern and contemporary art.
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