It took place on Friday June 21st 2024 the performance of Thomas De Falco: D r e a m, at the Giuseppe Iannaccone e Associati Law Firm.
The performance served as an opportunity to discover the newly reimagined exhibition layout featuring a selection of works from the Giuseppe Iannaccone Collection, which remained on view until July 8 at the Firm.
The work of Thomas De Falco (1982, lives and works in Paris) unfolded like an umbilical cord, an organic extension, growing like arteries and veins. This image found expression in his textile sculptures, inspired by nature, emotion, and the human condition. These forms came to life through the performance, which De Falco sees not as an accessory but as an essential counterpart to the sculpture itself: “Performance does not exist without textile sculpture; textile sculpture does not exist without the performer’s body.”
Working entirely by hand, De Falco employed the technique of wrapping: a continuous multiplication of knots forming densely layered tapestries, rootedin the ancient craft of vertical loom weaving. His sewing carries an almost magical quality, evoking a kind of ancestral ballad passed down through generations.
His performance, D r e a m, aspired to create a true tableau vivant, a living picture that interlace together dream and experience, much like Millais’s Ophelia.
In dialogue with selected works from the Giuseppe Iannaccone Collection and with his own textile sculptures (previously exhibitedin major Italian and international institutions), the performers entwined with both organic and synthetic materials to form a dynamic, evolving sculptural root. This living installation pulsed to the rhythm of an original composition created by De Falco in collaboration with musician Jihane, blending classical music with contemporary techno.
At the heart of this artistic inquiry exploring the human body’s role in the interplay between nature and technology, De Falco drew from the lessons of the past to engage with the aesthetic and social tensions of the present. His work highlights the evocative and symbolic power of both nature and the feminine, while acknowledging the paradox that performance, in expressing this power,could also distort it.
The fabrics used in the performance were the result of an upcycling initiative made possible through a collaboration between the Giuseppe Iannaccone Foundation and Paul & Shark, a company long committed to environmental sustainability. Further reinforcing this ethics, the electrical cables used during the performance were sourced from recycled materials provided by C.R.F. Rottami Metallici.