There is an exhibition currently on in Paris (address: 16 Villa Gaudelet) organised by Some/Things and entitled “& He Went Into The Sea in His Carriage & Horses” (more about it later).
The event is actually inspired by a rather controversial yet mysterious and fascinating Italian character, Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero.
Born in Torremaggiore in 1710, the anatomist and inventor was interested in chemistry and alchemy.
People used to say he was a magician and at times called him the “cursed prince” for his strange scientific experiments.
Legends say that he had carved out of the bones and skin of seven cardinals seven chairs (that may be a legend, but he apparently made a perpetual lamp using some bones and a skull...) and that he had turned into a metal statue a woman who had rejected him and a man who had defended her (in fact they say that the anatomical models preserved in the underground rooms of the Sansevero Chapel in Naples - please note: they are definitely not for the faint-hearted View this photo - are not models, but a man and a woman in whose veins the prince had injected a metallising liquid that helped him obtaining a perfect model of the circulatory system...).
In 1744 the prince started renovating the Naples-based family chapel, now known as the Sansevero Chapel.
There are further legends about this chapel (some say it was built on the same location of an ancient temple dedicated to Isis) that preserves some of the finest works of art you will be able to see in Naples.
One of the pieces in the chapel is the "Veiled Christ" by Giuseppe Sanmartino: this statue (View this photo) is incredibly moving and mesmerising because the veil covering the body of the dead Jesus looks almost real.
Another legend says that some of the veils and nets covering the other statues in the chapel (View this photo) are not made from marble, but they were real fabrics turned into marble by a secret alchemical process the mad prince had discovered (apparently he had also created a sort of synthetic liquid marble...).
The Paris-based exhibition also features a new installation by London-based Japanese designer Kei Kagami. Entitled “ Flying U-Boat”, it features a dress that looks rusty and rigid, but can actually be worn.
The frame around it with its pulleys makes me think a lot about architecture, yet there is also a connection with Raimondo di Sangro's foldable theatre stage, a small stage that through wheels, winches and ropes could be lifted and closed like a book (apparently he built it in 1729, when he was just 19 years old).
“I focused on some key words connected with the theme, such as architecture, erosion and being underwater,” Kagami explained me in a recent email.
“Texture-wise, I glued stone tips and metal powder on the surface of the dress. Some parts were red-rusted by salt water, while the metal parts were oxidised and turned black. Shape-wise I imagined a Japanese temple - like the Temple of the Silver Pavilion or the Temple of the Golden Pavilion - to bring some symbolic architectural image. To make it more original, I added a frame that symbolises a sort of floating element. Story-wise, I imagined that an object had sunk into the sea but tried to come back above the sea level, almost like a ghost ship or a U-boat, so there is also a bit of a scary twist in the story. Function-wise, when the hand crank is wound, the skirt stands up and the structure floats in the air thanks to four wires. The piece also works as a wearable installation: a model can actually wear it and walk with the frame. There are also some connections with alchemical processes since, when I started this installation, I was thinking about how I could give the illusion that the fabric was actually made of rusty metal.”
I find Kagami's "Flying U-Boat" very inspiring from a fashion and structural point of view (and obviously for its connections with Raimondo di Sangro...) and I must admit that the themes behind this installation are so intriguing that a little tale has been forming in my mind since I first saw these images.
Kei Kagami will be one of the judges (Fashion and Accessories panel) of the Trieste-based ITS#10 competition. The competition results will be unveiled at the weekend, so good luck to all the finalists!
All images in this post courtesy of Kei Kagami
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