Where is Everybody? is the story of a process of comparison and reflection that
involved researchers from different disciplines: astrophysics, archaeology, art and philosophy, gathered in a country house near the Necropolis of Realmese (Calascibetta), in a format that recalls Boccaccio’s Decameron.
One of the initial reflections, drawing parallels between the numerous artificial caves in the necropolis and black holes, led the group to question the implications of general relativity and quantum mechanics on our imaginative faculties. During the residency, philosophical and scientific discussions also arose on the possibility of overcoming language by moving beyond human experience. This complex web of thoughts and dialogues flowed into a video installation, a unique edition of an artist’s book, drawings and a series of hand-embroidered cushions. The title of the project is inspired by a question posed by Enrico Fermi in the 1950s, which later symbolizes the potential existence of alternative forms of life in the universe.
Where is Everybody? was first presented online at the end of 2020 on the platform of the GAM in Palermo. Since then, the project has been in continuous transformation and in 2023 it was exhibited in a decomposed and immersive form at the Church of the Madonna degli Studenti in Lecce, curated by Eresie Pellegrine and Kunstschau and at Aterraterra Lab in Palermo.
Each show is an opportunity to reactivate our dialogue by opening it to new points of view. In Lecce, for example, we organized a long night of readings and discussions on time and the latest hypotheses of the physicist and essayist Carlo Rovelli, all under the influence of psychotropic substances. In Palermo, instead, we organized a dinner that involved personalities such as Michael Doser, physicist and researcher at CERN with particular attention to antimatter and quantum detection; Silvia Wyder, researcher in Art and Therapy; and Tiziana Di Salvo, professor of Astrophysics at the Department of Physics of the University of Palermo.