Luca De Leva
Blarney 5x308 March 2013
London
Titled ‘Blarney 5x3’, the performance takes its name from an Irish castle, which has a stone built in the walls of its tower that is said to bestow the gift of eloquence on those who kiss it. 5x3 cm is the size of the artist’s mouth. The work consists of 10 performers kissing the wall to the rhythm of a sentence in Morse code, and then exchanging positions. Playfully referencing the invisible codes embedded in art and culture the work relates to the current exhibition, Evolution & Comfort by Yves Scherer, by examining the ways in which surfaces mediate our notions of intimacy.
The rhythm of the kisses creates a localized soundscape, an activation of the gallery walls for the finissage of the exhibition.
Luca De Leva (Milan, 1986) studied in Brera and in Leipzig. Selected solo and group exhibitions include Straight Up, Family Business, New York; Ho perso gli anelli ma mi restano le dita, Galleria Room, Milan; Underneath the street, the beach, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Thy Self Talk, Zicohouse, Beirut, Lebanon; ThySelf, De Walvisch Culture Ship, London, U.K.
