Archeologi, The Metadata of Villa Lontana

Published on the occasion of the exhibition 'Archeologi, The Metadata of Villa Lontana' 13 October - 10 November 2018 at Villa Lontana, Rome, Italy.

On archaeological sites the pavilion tent is the brain of the excavation. Its temporary, three-dimensional form provides shelter for investigation and reflection. The exhibition ARCHEOLOGI was framed by the conceptual paradigm of an archaeological pavilion. Sculptures from different eras have been situated in the garden of Villa Lontana, bringing contemporary works which engage with duration, narrative and history into a dialogue.

For the publication launch the pavilion in the garage of Villa Lontana was re-sited.

Archeologi situates works by Larry Achiampong, Elisabetta Benassi, Alessandro Cicoria, Barry Flanagan, Clementine Keith-Roach, Louise Lawler, Maria Nordman, Sudarshan Shetty, Daniel R. Small, Franco Troiani in the garden of Villa Lontana. The book includes a section where each artist responded to the documentation of the exhibition as a work in itself. The use of drones for aerial images, references archaeological surveillance. Drones with their all-seeing eyes like the ancient gods, hover, climb and descend, are increasingly a part of our everyday landscape. Used in agriculture, on archaeological sites and in war zones they encourage philosophical debate on moral questions. The garden of Villa Lontana was photographed by a drone camera before the exhibition opened. A Roman necropolis of more than one hundred sixty tombs dating back to the first half of the first century BCE has recently been rediscovered along the ancient Via Cassia, this road is now the site of Villa Lontana’s garage. Artefacts, from domestic to forgotten and overlooked, urns, sarcophagi, grand edifices... emerge as the specifics and traces of previous habitations. Remains and traces of objects lead us to new thoughts.