Ombre Perenni

OMBRE PERENNI

University of Rome, “La Sapienza,” Cloister of San Pietro in Vincoli,
Rome, Italy

Year:
2002

Dimensions:
200’ x 200’

Materials:
Revolving Animated Projections, Theatrical Lighting and Music

Ombre Perenni was an event featuring animated shadow figures and live sound, created for a celebration of the summer solstice in the magnificent, historical cloister of the Engineering School at the University of Rome. The project represented the beginning of a series of experimental collaborations that explore the enigmatic legend of the She-Wolf, the icon symbolic of the mythological beginnings of Rome.

A revolving video projector created a fluid image that circled the collimated space, wrapping itself around corners and columns and catching the well at the center, bringing ancient mythology to life as a living image. The installation emphasized the fluid boundary between nature and civilization, between wild and tame, between instinct and culture.

Sound composed for the occasion mixed the voices of wolves and humans in a wash of water.

This preliminary study was the beginning of a larger project for the revival of the Tiber River entitled, TEVERETERNO. Ombre Perenni was a multi-media event created in collaboration with composer Maurizio Martusciello and video artists Alberto D’Amico, Alexandro LaDaga, and Silvia Manteiga.