Cub_ism_ Artspace is pleased to presentCamilla Giannotti’s solo showMerely Ghost and will exhibit over 10 new paintings.
How can one be certain of one's awakening? Whenever we dream, is it the traces of reality that are projected into our minds, or is it, conversely, that we intuitively perceive strong omens of the world to come? It is truly difficult to articulate. We can indeed know that we are awake during the long days. We remember our names, walk our own paths, and everything around us follows order: day and night alternate, seasons change; apart from rain, snow, and hail, nothing else falls from the sky. Other things grow from the earth, or dwell in ponds and oceans — but what about those rooted in dreams? Where do they come from? Can the night truly bear the responsibility of being their mother?
I find myself questioning: are the names I hear, the scenes I see, and the heat and cold I feel merely reflections of my deepest inner self, an external projection of the soul? If not, why is it that in the daytime, when we are awake, we are instead unfree? Everyone adheres to the same, singular reality, where rules reign supreme — who cares what a singer, a theater actor, or an artist is doing? Camilla Giannotti is a girl who grew up in Naples. Although she has left for Venice, the raw, chaotic experiences Naples gave her hide within them signs of vivid freedom — this contradictory state always makes one forget when they fell asleep and when they will wake. As Elena Ferrante said,it was a chain with larger and larger links, the neighborhood was connected to the city, the city to Italy, Italy to Europe, Europe to the whole planet. And this is how I see it today: it’s not the neighborhood that’s sick, it’s not Naples, it’s the entire earth, it’s the universe, or universes. And shrewdness means hiding and hiding from oneself the true state of things. Dreams hold the truths people conceal by day, which is why the girl needs dreams — by day, she does what she must; by night, in her dreams, she can finally do what she truly wants.
Camilla's creations strive to reveal her dreams to people. These intimate relationships concerning home, childhood, and love are filled with a nostalgic and gentle atmosphere. On the one hand, they can make people feel at home; on the other hand, the inner storms and struggles are visible — too beautiful dreams are like a knife thrust into the reality, transforming into shape of a lollipop, hairpins, or a girl. The remembrance of yesterday's quietly fading memories and the indifference to tomorrow's fierce reality are precisely the artist's way of interacting with the world.
We navigate through dreams with a mind that is clear: we ourselves are merely ghosts of past years. And after this, we sleep eternally, or wake tomorrow.
Text by Leslie DONG
