ENDGAME

From 17/07/2021 To 30/09/2021

Association Orto Botanico Corsini is pleased to present Endgame, an exhibition of sculptural interventions located throughout the Corsini Botanical Gardens in Porto Ercole, curated by Luia Corsini in collaboration with Massimo Mininni.

Endgame refers to Samuel Beckett’s celebrated one-act play, first performed in 1957, in which an embittered protagonist laments the state of his life -- the would-have-beens and could-have-beens, as he nears his journey’s end. The title also serves as a commentary on the intrinsic, layered and complex relationship between man and nature.

In recent years, and highlighted by stay-at-home orders many of us faced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the delicate, cyclical and volatile essence of man’s relationship with Earth has become impossible to ignore. As we begin to emerge from quarantine, we are increasingly aware of the positive implications of a slower life; of lesser-travelled skies, quieter roads and cleaner waters.

The paradox, as many are, is sad. Us, humans, depend on nature; we feed off it. On the one hand, we nurture and celebrate it, turning to nature for grounding, inspiration or survival. While on the other hand, we take it for granted, destroying it for our gain. As a society, we have reached a junction -- or if we have not yet, we are certainly nearing one: to slow down, and adopt a conscious rhythm, one more attune to that of our Earth, or to keep accelerating, mindlessly, straying further from nature until we are faced with an Endgame.

Collaboration is at the heart of this project, with conversations unfolding between man and nature, artist and medium. A cross-cultural dialogue between Esteban Fuentes de Maria, Carlos Garcia, Fernando Ocaña and Bosco Sodi, from Mexico, Agnes, Federica di Carlo, Desideria Corsini, Henryk Corsini, Luia Corsini, Marzia Gandini, Charlie Masson, Pietro Pasolini, Malù dalla Piccola, Benedetto Pietromarchi, Annie Rattie Tristano di Robilant, Baldassare Ruspoli and Alessandro Twombly, from Italy, Stijn Cole from Belgium and Sol Bailey Barker and David Worthington from the United Kingdom, reveals the myriad ways in which man perceives himself in relation to Earth.

Whereas Luia Corsini and Ocaña leave the garden, and the elements, to activate their works, Sodi introduces his native earth, Oaxacan-sourced clay stacks, into the Mediterranean landscape. Similarly, Alessandro Twombly works with clay -- in an act, he explains, of consciousness. Tristano di Robilant, on the other hand, interprents Endgame through a nostalgic lens; his architectural sculpture, Shade Shelter, offers an opportunity for quiet contemplation.

This diverse group of artists engage in a sort of chess game as they respond to Endgame in ways reflective of their varied backgrounds. Having developed their practices continents apart, these artists come together in Porto Ercole, united by their commitment to exploring the exceptional moment and junction at which we find ourselves today.