The Fiction of the Physical
As the title of the exhibition, *The Fiction of the Physical*, suggests, everything we see is fictitious, starting with the choice to use the term *Arcipelago* to define a group of works imprinted with a mountain detail. The artist's reflection begins with the contemporary use of smartphones: the vast amount of information available online is both filtered through an algorithm that understands our interests and preferences and constrained by the physical characteristics of the device itself. The fields of color metaphorically enclose the portion of the screen with which we can interact, while simultaneously imitating nature by tracing the horizon line, upon which an island seemingly emerges. In *Celestial Bodies*, the boundary between fiction and reality becomes even thinner, as Tagliafico has created two small sculptures that resemble rocks extracted from the very mountain previously concealed from view—as if attempting to release it from the two-dimensional condition to which it is confined. Inside them, the photosensitive liquid of cyanotype reappears as an invisible agent, altering the color of the plaster they are made of. Meanwhile, two painted glass panels, coated with dark blue acrylic, stand in front of them, reflecting the forms in an infinite loop.
On the lower floor, the installation *Field of Vision* engages with the space and invites the audience to interact, to walk through it, and thus become an active part of the work. Here, the large glass panels are supported by wooden bases spaced apart. Each pair is distinguished by a specific shade of blue and contains a digital print on transparent film, in negative: when mentally assembled, the five fragments form a photograph taken in the mountains, where the landscape gradually gives way to the sky and clouds.
Text by Roberto Sala, Rivista Segno
