ESSERE A CASA
10.12.2017 – 25.03.2018

There are places we love; there are shelters. There is the Earth in which we put down invisible roots, made of our dearest ones, of memory, language, and culture. There is our Homeland; our Motherland, which sometimes is an evil stepmother. There is that clearing in the woods that only we know, in which the apprehension of being alive is appeased. That non-place between the lines of a book, in our dreams and fantasy. Utopia.

What does it mean to be at home? What does it mean to say: this is my place?
What do we really mean by saying “I feel at home here”, “I’m looking for a place where I can feel at home” or “You make me feel at home”?
Assuming that the human being is a social and political animal, what is the role of other human beings within the place we call home? Did home exist in the past? Does it still exist, or should we build it? How? And how many times?
When talking about home, many other questions are raised.
The feeling of being at home and its reasons are just as central and mysterious as the very concept of identity. They share the depth that lies behind the pronouns we utter, like “I”, or “we”. They are the cause or the purpose of everything we say or do.

However, is it even possible for human beings to reach something to be called home? Or will it always be just a desire? A nostos, a return journey led by nostalgia. Back home.
The very nature of the human being -which is made of instinct and rationality, of nature and culture, of an endless conflict between environment and transcendence- makes it impossible to reach a quiet “nest”. For this reason, feeling at home is of utmost importance.

The curator Valeria Bertesina

The exhibition catalogue is available.