Elisabetta Di Maggio / Mapping the Air
10.02.23 – 30.04.23
ifa-Galerie Berlin
Linienstraße 139-140, 10115 Berlin
Review by Anna Ratcliffe
Installationsansicht der Ausstellung "Mapping the Air" von Elisabetta di Maggio in der ifa-Galerie Berlin © Victoria Tomaschko
With her current exhibition Mapping the Air, Elisabetta de Maggio creates a sense of calm, a
respite in a restless city. The materials she uses implore us to be gentle, from thin tissue paper
to crushable autumn leaves. She takes these humble ingredients and through time-consuming and labour-intensive work, produces awe-inspiring pieces. It's a similar ethos to Italian cooking. Living in Venice, Di Maggio's frail creations have been tenderly transported to
Berlin for the exhibition at ifa Galerie, curated by Chiara Bertola.
As you enter, the space is divided by intricately cut paper screens. But divided isn't the right
word, as it implies a slicing in two, a separation. These paper walls let through air, light and
partial sight. Using a sharp scalpel with the precision of a surgeon, Di Maggio traces city
maps that seamlessly combine with synaptic cell structures. It draws our attention to the
similarities of their design, how both act as transportation networks but on a micro and macro level. In a more recent piece, created using the same technique, she mentally visits all the cities she couldn't during the pandemic. Completed in 2022, the double layer of tissue paper documents every place she was meant to exhibit, every holiday missed, and every friend and family member not seen. The cities gel together, creating a fictional mega-metropolis, a way of travelling without being physically present. To produce these works, Di Maggio has said she spends 10 hours a day carefully cutting the intricate grids. It shows an extraordinary
discipline, a skill which she honed as a child ballet dancer. These works are hung delicately
throughout the gallery between two points, and it seems even the movement of air from a
passer-by could tear and untether them.
Elisabetta Di Maggio, Mapping the Air [Die Luft kartieren], 2001-2010, Seidenpapier handgeschnitten mit einem Skalpell, Installation Detail, 30x25x25 cm. Mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Künstlerin und der Galerie Christian Stein, Mailand
Elisabetta Di Maggio, Vuoti d'Aria #01 [Luftleer #01], 2021, Bleiglas, Zweig, Blatt einer Shallon-Scheinbeere, Kelch einer Physalis Akekengi Pflanze, stabilisiert und handgeschnitten mit einem Skalpell, weiße Koralle, 30x30x30 cm. Mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Künstlerin und der Galerie Christian Stein, Mailand
Beauty and simplified elegance seep into all corners of the exhibition. By the window, a
group of three pieces are enclosed in Venetian glass cases. The hand-blown surface ripples,
casting wavy shadows on the sculptures below. It makes it seem as if they are under the sea's
surface - which fits, as the coral pieces of the sculptures act as anchors for delicately floating
flora and fauna, which have been preserved with glycerin and cut by hand. The plant life
appears weightless, as if not affected by gravity - but they are. Even under their glass
protectors, I have seen one of these works topple. Yet in this moment of possible anguish on opening night, Di Maggio takes a Zen-like approach: appreciating the frail nature, she deftly repositions it, restoring its balance. These veer into ornamental objects: the filigree added to the leaves serves no purpose other than to make the sculptures' natural parts more arrestingly beautiful. This craft element of being delicate, constant, and patient, has historically been dismissed as women's pursuits. Yet while the work can seem dainty, it has sharp edges.
Installationsansicht der Ausstellung "Mapping the Air" von Elisabetta di Maggio in der ifa-Galerie Berlin © Victoria Tomaschko
Against the back wall, a foam panel hangs, implanted with pins – the same tools used by
entomologists to affix butterfly specimens for study. Illustrating the cruelty humans will go to
conquer in the name of knowledge. However, instead of studying them in death, this work
tracks the flight path of a butterfly as it tries to get from point A to point B. The trail wiggles
and winds, loops and turns because butterflies' wings revolve in three directions making
moving in a straight line impossible. Di Maggio takes this as a metaphor for life, we may
know where we want to be, but the journey is rarely direct. The pins are placed so close
together the shadows look more like a veil of lace as the pin heads glisten in the light. On a
darker note, the movement of butterflies is now being investigated by the U.S. military to
improve drone mechanics. Again, we see the abhorrent nature of humanity that can take
something as beautiful and innocent as a butterfly and use it for destruction and warfare.
Elisabetta Di Maggio, Co-incidere [Zusammen-fallen], 2023, Foto Francesco Allegretto, 25x25 cm. Mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Künstlerin und der Galerie Christian Stein, Mailand
Elisabetta Di Maggio, Ohne Titel, 2020, Aquarell auf Papier, 29,7x21 cm. Mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Künstlerin und der Galerie Christian Stein, Mailand
Human technology often draws from the natural world. Di Maggio highlights this link
between urban life and nature in her practice. It can be seen particularly clearly in Berlin
2022 when the U-Bahn system, standing skewered on pins, is placed next to the isolated
veins of cabbage leaves, Cabbage 2010. It draws our attention to the similarities of the
networks, how the capillaries transport water and the trains carry people, both in the most
efficient way. Throughout the exhibition, the connections between us and the natural world
are drawn closer. In a piece titled Co-incidere (Coincide), Di Maggio allows the viewer to
linger on a photograph of a palm holding a leaf, the veins linking up with the creases of the
skin, making us dwell on the fragility of all life. Not in a way to invoke a fear of mortality,
but one that acknowledges the passage of time and a comforting suggestion that all things are
related, from the microbes in the soil to the ever-growing cities. The experience is that you
are left feeling that you are part of a world that is bigger (and smaller) than yourself. This
change in perspective has a Buddhist-like feeling. It also relates to Di Maggio's way of
working, monks create intricate sand mandalas that can be blown away on the breeze, and Di
Maggio painstakingly cuts into the delicate skin of leaves that could be so easily destroyed.
The exhibition instils an inner tranquillity that can be carried with you out of the door.
Installationsansicht der Ausstellung "Mapping the Air" von Elisabetta di Maggio in der ifa-Galerie Berlin © Victoria Tomaschko