Il Ventre di Napoli, Naples

Il Ventre di Napoli, Naples, Italy

In 2014 I travelled to Naples, Italy for a short research trip of only one week, to prepare for a future artist-in-residence at Il Ventre di Napoli, a residency organized by Dutch curator Patricia Pulles.  

Parts of the city of Naples reminded me of places in Indonesia as well as Colombia. I noticed many people had an angry or indignant expression on their faces, and I noticed lots of rubbish, poo and cigarette butts trashed on the streets. I also learned about the relative poverty in Naples. I asked myself: What does this city need, what might its inhabitants need? The outcome of the research were three proposals where the presence of a Neapolitan audience or a collaboration with the audience is important.

1) The first plan is called Mi piace la sua maglietta (Italian for: I like your shirt). Many people wear T-shirts with texts. With English texts or it should pass for English. Anywhere in the world. I also come across it in Indonesia where I live part of the year. It has become clear to me that non-native speakers often do not know the meaning of what is printed on their shirts. I find that very funny. 
During the short research period I made photo portraits of Neapolitans wearing shirts with positive texts. The words and sentences about love, optimism and positivity contrast sharply with the reality in Naples. My proposal is to offer a screen-printing workshop to have Neapolitans make their own t-shirts with their own texts. Portraits of the participants in their shirts are displayed on billboards around the city.

2) The city of Naples is master in showing ingenuity in the public domain: the markets and street trade are impressive. There is also a phenomenon of 'extensions' of houses that enter or occupy public space. My second proposal for a future residency at Il Ventre di Napoli is to create a remake of an extension of a house together with Neapolitans. This plan is inspired by installations of artist Marjetica Potrc.

3) The third proposal has the working title Sinfonia. I want to research music cultures in Naples and present this as the intervention Sinfonia: a music composition that can be heard from apartments and houses. In consultation with the residents I compose the symphony based on their music preference. It works best if instrumental music is chosen as much as possible. Because of the hearing distance, homes on the first or second floor are the most suitable and I prefer homes on a square. The Gesammtkunstwerk can be heard in various ways, because it changes as people walk past the houses or move away. My wish is to find magic in the mix of the different music styles. 
I have some strong memories of how music blends into other music. In Rio de Janeiro, two bars competed with loud music. A wonderful cacophony arose. In Rotterdam I visited a Dance Parade where cars with speakers drove past the audience. Between the cars the beats from one sound system mixed with the next one. That yielded magic. I have experience as a DJ where I look for that specific moment.

Unfortunately Il Ventre di Napoli ceased to exist since 2020. I rewrote the third plan Sinfonia into a proposal for an intervention / performance in Bijlmer, Amsterdam Zuidoost in 2023 and realised Bijlmersymfonie within the context of a residency at BijlmAIR, Amsterdam Zuidoost in 2023.