FABRIZIO ACCATINO - La Stampa
A burning tree, gloves like hands reaching for the sky, skeletal golden branches, a face transfiguring into the Amazon River. The artistic interpretations of goal number 13 of the UN Agenda 2030, to promote action at all levels to combat climate change are infinite. Some of these interpretations are on display at UNSSC, the UN's Turin campus (Viale Maestri del Lavoro 10), on the occasion of its 20th birthday. Twelve works of art created by as many artists, with the aim of turning visitors into “agents of change” against the environmental emergency.As the curator Giulia Colletti explains: “The aim of the exhibition is to adopt fragility as an approach to unlearning anti-ecological practices and learning what it means to live together and coexist. Plus there is the added value offered by the location. The fact that the exhibition is in the UN college is no coincidence, because education was one of the elements I took into consideration when considering the selection of the works”. In the exhibition “Fragile Soil, Fertile Souls”, Italy is represented by 30-year-old Giuliana Rosso from Chivasso. Her large drawing in chalk and charcoal on dusting paper, which spills onto a table and becomes three-dimensional, is entitled “All the words, before you speak them”, from a passage in “The Little Virtues” by Natalia Ginzburg.The rest of the parterre is characterised by interaction and eclecticism. The works range from the audio-installation of Singaporean sound designer Tini Aliman to the LEDs of London-based Alice Bucknell, from cushions impregnated with essential oils by the Greek Elektra Stampoulou to the photography of the Brazilian Uyra Sodoma, from the bronze sculpture of the German Zohra Opoku to the video of the Puerto Rican collective Las Nietas de Nonó. Lucy Chinen from Los Angeles is present with three works made with different techniques: stickers, bags scattered around the room and a video game simulation. Iranian Jafar Javan, director of UNSSC and on the UN staff for more than 25 years, explains: “This is the first time we have ever organised an exhibition here. Our mission is to teach, educate, and make people more aware of climate change issues. To do this, we chose art as a language, which helps to expand consciousness and awareness of the challenges that lie ahead”.The vernissage was attended by the Chef de Cabinet of the UN Secretary-General, Courtenay Rattray. The Jamaican diplomat had nothing but praise for the college. “It is a learning-related institution, which is part of the UN system. Working for the United Nations means in fact having a deep knowledge of the work to be done and the services to be provided to the most vulnerable populations. In this, ITCILO is unique. Here we help design and customise the most useful programmes for our professionals, who are then called upon to work in the field. The world has reached a critical point, there is a shortage of food and energy. Our task is to help countries in need without distinction, even those that have nothing to give us in return”.— “Film Still from Swamp City" from the artist Alice Bucknell