Shooting stars
Sound installation
On going project
10/2019, MACAM Alita, Byblos, (Lebanon) curated by May El Hage
08/2018, Noite Branca, Braga (Portugal)
07/2018, Museo per la Memoria di Ustica, Bologna curated by MAMbo
06/2018, Miasto Ogrodow, Katowice (Poland), curatedy by UNESCO creative cities network
12/2017,
Sound Design Festival, Hamamatsu (Japan)
10/2017,
Ad alta voce, Padova (Italy)
06/2017,
Italian Institute of Culture, Athens (Greece), curated by Giusy Ragosa
06/2017,
Art Farm, Verona (Italy)
03/2017, Arsenale, Verona (Italy), curated by Simone Azzoni
10/2014, RoBOt Festical, Bologna (Italy), curated by Federica Patti
Shooting Stars is a sound installation, created by the artists duo Antonello-Ghezzi in collaboration with the National Institute for Astrophysics in Medicina (Bologna), Italy.
From the Astronomic Research Center the cosmic noises over the Mediterranean basin are captured in a live stream giving us the opportunity to listen to the sounds of shooting stars, creating a particular sound when they pass by. Meteorites are many, more than one can imagine, even over 50 per hour.
Photo of the sound-art concert in MACAM, curated by May El Hage for the Biennale curated by Sara Schaub
October 12, 2019 MACAM Alita, Byblos, Lebanon
The setting was a dark cliff, illuminated in the foreground subtly by the fairy lights, and in the background by the cities and villages in the mountains and valleys beyond. Above, a full moon shone, and by our sides, the fires flickered.
Charbel Haber’s soft intonations resonated, sometimes soaring, sometimes falling, as he listened also to the sound of the stars. His improvisation was intuitive; what was holding our breaths was the sound of the cosmos, and the sometimes-occasional, sometimes-frequent “whoosh” sound that indicates a star has fallen.
Such was the setting of the Shooting Stars concert, a project created by the imagination of the contemporary artist duo Antonello Ghezzi.
The two Italian artists succeeded in bringing to the mountains of Alita, Byblos in Lebanon the very intentions that drive every one of their projects; the creativity and magic of the moment, that showcases art made possible by science, reminding us “we are all together under the same sky”. We are one, art is poetry, poetry brings magic, and we can have magical moments every day, if we allow ourselves. This is the core message of Antonello Ghezzi’s art.
Sara Schaub, the curator of the Biennale of Contemporary Art 2019: Universal Data, recognized the power and potential of the project, in a simple yet impressive conversation that she and I had together one evening in Beirut. We discussed Contemporary Art today, the direction of Contemporary Art globally and locally, and the Biennale. Together with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura- Beirut, we created the opportunity of bringing and hosting the artists in Lebanon, specifically at the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum (MACAM) the main venue of the Biennale. Since its launch on September 14, 2019, MACAM’s Biennale has attracted over 50 local and international artists and showcased a truly diverse display of contemporary art, including new media art, videos, installations, etc. Sara Schaub’s work has created the opportunity to gather artists from all over the world to embrace this truly contemporary art moment; discussing issues that run across borders and cultures, and into what it means to be an artist, to be people, today.
May El Hage
art historian
Photo of the sound-art installation in Braga at Gnaration
