Barbara Gabbrielli
Since 2017, day and night, Jacopo Baboni Schilingi has worn a breathing sensor, a kind of heart-monitor strap that enables him to transform his breathing and heartbeats into art. Through an algorithm, Schilingi has taught the computer to interpret vital signs and translate them into luminous images and sounds. The result is Argo, an open-ended, continuous work revealing the artist’s deep identity without even showing his face, instead bringing viewers into contact with the emotions pulsing within him.
From the Grand Palais in Paris, Argo comes to Florence for the first time, hosted in a space at MAD–Murate Art District. The installation opens today at 5.30 p.m. in the artist’s presence.
“Argo is a hymn to existence; it will last my whole life. Until I stop breathing, it will show others what I am feeling in real time through images and sounds that exist only at that precise moment and can hardly be replicated,” the artist explains.
For the next twelve months, Jacopo Baboni Schilingi will be artist in residence at Le Murate, working on a project promising to “make Florence resonate like a great instrument”. The first stage is tomorrow at 6 p.m. at La Compagnia, with Cinere, a theatrical monologue for actress and violinist produced by Ensemble de Musique Interactive, whose text addresses the trauma of violence. Elsa Revcolevschi performs, accompanied by video and music composed by Baboni Schilingi himself.
Pull quote: Schilingi’s project transforms the heartbeat into light and sound: an open-ended, continuous work revealing the artist’s emotions and identity.