Separated by the sea from the rest of the world, the island represents the perfect place in which to create a new and better society. Literature is full of examples of utopias set on islands. The first one is The Island of Utopia by Thomas More (1516), from which the word utopia comes. But this word literally means “a place that doesn’t exist”. Is it possible that a perfect society can exist only in our imagination? Flora will explore this unanswerable question at Residency B28 in Suomenlinna, through texts, interviews and videos.
“The starting point of my research is: how does the landscape influence our thoughts and, vice versa, how do we project our thoughts onto the territory we inhabit? In particular, my attention is directed towards islands, both as real places and as symbols. The fields I investigate are: the paradox of the sea, as an element that both unifies and divides; the island as an archetype and the reality of the ‘island mentality’; and the wishes and critiques of a possible utopia.
This research will be divided into two approaches. First, questioning and filming people who live on islands through standard documentary techniques. Second, using images and sounds to create a dreamlike experience of the island as an archetype.”
About the artist
Born and raised in Italy, Flora studied literature and philosophy at the University of Bergamo. She then travelled around the world for six years, where she developed a passion for learning about people’s different life stories. Back in Europe, she moved to Corsica, where she studied cinema. Since then, she has written and directed creative documentaries in which she mixes reality with fictional sequences.
“My aim is to use images, sound and music in order to convey meanings that bypass the rational understanding of the topics I explore. I like to create dreamy and poetical worlds, and I prefer non-linear storytelling.”
Flora Pesenti’s stay at Residency B28 is co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe programme as part of the project Island Connect.
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