Orlando Furioso 500 anni
What Ludovico Ariosto saw when closed his eyes? What images crowded his mind while he composed the poem that marked the Italian Renaissance? What kind of artwork fueled his imagination? At the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara the exhibition "Orlando Furioso 500 years" tries to answer these questions about Orlando Furioso.
The exhibition works on the author’s visual imagination and the project set-up is declined as a dreamlike path that takes visitors on an exciting tour into the universe of Ariosto. The intent is to retrace the poem and that’s exactly the cover of the book which marks the entrance of this trip. The original linear path of the Palace is decomposed into a maze of tall and slender “tree showcases” that recreate the landscape of Ariosto's forest and at the same time suggest the complicated intricacies of the novel itself.
Inside this maze conceal low “pit showcases” that hide at first look the works within them: only approaching and looking out on them we can discover what is concealed inside. Transparent and thin metal wire suspend the objects exhibited, making them look like floating in a dream: the dematerialization of the object is important.
The conscious use of the light and the use of a twilight exhibition hall suggest a dreamlike landscape. The coating of the existing floor of some rooms with raw metal, the use of lightbox that modulate light by reproducing the octaves of Ariosto’s work and the integration of graphite velvet curtains in the strategic passages constantly affect the sensory experience of the visitor altering the overall perception of the exhibition.
