Non-relational objects

Non-relational objects (ongoing series), started in 2010, is inspired by real episodes of relational spaces that have become inaccessible, such as benches, the use of which is denied to specific ethnic minorities by other citizens.

Focusing on architecture, public spaces, monuments and collective identity, the work analyses the paradoxes and liminal spaces that emerge when the idea of relation and the need to create collective spaces clashes with issues of integration and social coexistence.

Through these installation, I explore the plastic possibilities involved in creating these absurdities, laying the emphasis on political and social issues.

Elisa Caldana, Non-relational objects
2018
Silkscreen on safety glass
7 glass-sheets leaning against the wall Each: 135 x 80 x 0.8 cm

Texts by Elisa Caldana
Design by Ted Hyunhak Yoon
Printed at the Jan van Eyck, Maastricht

Installation view at MAMbo Museum, Bologna, 2018

The Headless Fountain

The Headless Fountain centers on a controversial fountain titled “Return to Egypt” and tells the story of its conversion into a minimal basin.

The fountain, placed by the city council of Bordeaux, France, in a predominantly Islamic neighborhood, depicted a mythological three-headed figure marked by religious syncretism and hints at a colonial past. Soon after its placement, the three-headed statue got removed by unknown citizens several times. The city restored it regularly with new heads until it was left headless.

Elisa Caldana, The Headless Fountain
Part of the Non-relational objects series
2018
Silkscreen on safety glass
7 glass-sheets leaning against the wall
Each: 135 x 80 x 0.8 cm

The Smoke of Maastricht

The Smoke of Maastricht elaborates on an episode of a fire started by unanimous individuals at the entrance of a limestone cave, in the border village of Kanne, near Maastricht, allegedly to scare seasonal workers occupying the cave as temporary shelter. 

Elisa Caldana, The Smoke of Maastricht
Part of the Non-relational objects series
2018
Silkscreen on safety glass
7 glass-sheets leaning against the wall Each: 135 x 80 x 0.8 cm