Oct. 27 – The Fado Performance Art Centre presents “I was there,” a live art project by Italian artist Francesca Fini. The project takes place within the 10th edition of the 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, scheduled for October 29-November 2. The event, sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute of Toronto, will be held on October 31, at 8pm, at the Artscape Youngplace in Toronto. On Saturday, November 1 at 1pm, a conference with artists Francesca Fini, Eduardo Oramas, Andree Weschler moderated by Tanya Mars, will answer all questions. Francesca Fini is an interdisciplinary artist who lives and works in Rome; her projects often refers to social and political issues in a set of “lo-fi” technologies, homemade design tools, video and live audio. Her interest in video art doesn’t mean she doesn’t create pieces using residues of performance art. “I was there – said Francesca Fini – is a live project in which the traditional languages of documentaries have been revolutionized and updated, mixed and matched with the surrealism of live performances. During the event, I approach the past of Western civilizations, and that of my family, both digitally and physically, by placing myself in old photos and videos. I contaminate the past by placing it in a the metaphysical set that integrates live media, video projections and ‘chroma key’ technology. It’s essentially an impossible meeting with my past culture and that of my family, in which space and time collapse in the ideal size of the performing arts. I was there because I’m here now; I was there even before being an idea in my mother’s mind.”
