It has been summer holiday, a time to travel, go sightseeing, and RELAX. We went on a familytrip to Italy, and started in Rome. The boys really wanted to see the ancient Colosseum in the south (it spoke to their imagination) but were also happy to visit the contemporary Maxxi-museum in the north (they thought the banister was designed as a marble-track ☺). In between I wanted to make a stop, not to go shopping, but to visit the Alternatives Gallery! In the old centre, the small gallery is almost hidden in one of the tiny streets. Inside, there is a great collection of wonderful works though! I did not know where to look first…
Alternatives has artist from all over the world, but also some that are very close to home, like Margherita Marchioni. Her neckpiece ‘Materiamorfosi:shopping bags’ stood out to me. It attracted my attention because of its’ colorfulness, which felt refreshing after the ancient buildings we visited. I wondered if the neckpiece was made out of sweets, and was surprised to find it was made from shopping bags! In all her work, Margherita Marchioni recycles everyday objects, without actually changing the material. The shopping bags have been cut into strips, rolled and bundled together with differently colored ones to start a new life. It is still basically the same thin plastic, once used to carry shopping with, only worn in a wonderful altered way. For me, it was great to see some ‘local’ work, and what makes it even better, is that its’ made out of local products! I always cherish the shopping bags brought back from a trip as a kind of souvenir…. (for a while)
Posts
