Cross Section of the Via Appia in Late Antiquity, 2015

Basel 2016
Cross Section of the Via Appia in Late Antiquity

Herald St, Galleria Franco Noero

Work on Paper
‘The Cross Section of the Via Appia in Late Antiquity is a panorama of imaginary Roman funerary monuments, a made-up archeological cross-section of the Via Appia, the suburban road between Rome and Apulia, along which the great and good in the Ancient world were buried. The architectural references I have used range from genuine ancient Roman source material, to Renaissance and Baroque buildings, to French academic utopian architecture, to Viennese fin-de-siècle and 1930s classicism. It is a tableau of remnants of architectural styles from many periods and places, and set within a general landscape of emptiness. The line created by the drawings is a cross section but also a panorama with a horizon. The panorama is a scene about the end of time, civilization, and historical styles – as seen from a cold perspective. It is a walk alongside diverse scenes, encouraging the public to actively participate in the viewing of the long ink drawing, as if they were strolling along the Via Appia and through the actual archeological site. The format of the work is directly related to the content and is the longest I have ever produced.’