Federica Schiavo Gallery

A SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATION CONCURRENTLY SHOWING AT THE PIRAMIDE CESTIA curated by Costantino D'Orazio


in.nate.ness

in- 1
prefix
1 (added to adjectives) not : inanimate | intolerant.
2 (added to nouns) without; lacking : inadvertence | inappreciation.
ORIGIN from Latin.

in- 2 |ɪn|
prefix
in; into; toward; within : induce | influx | inborn.

nates |ˈnāˌtēz|
plural noun Anatomy
the buttocks.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: Latin, plural of natis ‘buttock, rump.’

innate |iˈnāt|
adjective
inborn; natural : her innate capacity for organization. See note at inherent .
- Philosophy originating in the mind.

DERIVATIVES
innately |1ˈneɪtli| adverb
innateness |1ˈneɪtn1s| noun
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin innatus, past participle of innasci,
from in- ‘into’ + nasci ‘be born.’


In recent years the work of Middle-Eastern artists, in particular those from Lebanon, has gained enormous international attention.  Having just returned from exhibiting at Art Dubai, and currently in preparation for his first public solo show in London, Pascal Hachem often uses industrial design in his work to which he applies a detached sensibility and a spirit of observation that allows him to comment on the more subtle contradictions found in contemporary social contexts.  His obsessive attention to the details which hide themselves within the folds of our communities and human relationships, is the result of Hachem’s daily approach to life in Beirut, a city caught between danger and hope, excitement and disappointment. His work materialsies in the construction of machines and objects, often in movement, realised with the help of Lebanese craftsmen, where simple gestures often suggest very dramatic conditions with extraordinary representational force.

In Rome, the artist has been invited to work both within the space of Federica Schiavo Gallery as well as inside the Cestia Pyramid, an ancient monument not always open to the public. The central thread of his intervention is born out of a reflection on the abuse of power, a universal phenomenon that finds diverse outlets according to the environment in which it manifests itself. Often the architectural development of a city is determined by the exercise of social, economic and political powers, in Rome, Beirut and all over the world. Many of the monuments found in Rome which constitute the manifestation of power, were born as a result of expropriation of land and were often made using materials stripped from other buildings. Similarly, in the heart of Beirut lies the ‘fortress’ of the family of the Lebanese Prime Minister. Defended by massive security systems, it is itself an abuse of power that, behind the premise of security needs, legitimises the removal of part of the city from its inhabitants.

The Cestia Pyramid is not immune to these categories. Built between 12 and 18 b.C., this unique tomb quickly established itself as an exotic symbol of the city, evidence of the wealth and influence of it’s owner, Gaius Cestius Epulo who wanted to associate his memory with the grandeur of the Egyptian Pharaohs. In life, he served as ‘Septemviri Epulonum’, responsible for organising the banquets for the Emperor’s rituals. From this particular activity Hachem started to develop his own installation, which will evoke a ‘banquet’ for those today who do not have access to welfare.

The condition of subordination and assertion of superiority which has marked every age and latitude, is an innate need in humans, and it’s signs are often found within the most celebrated historical monuments. At Federica Schiavo Gallery, Hachem’s work will aim to reveal the ‘Emperor s’ of contemporary life through the construction of unsettling scenarios, where seemingly innocuous elements collected from intimate daily life, become metaphors for the social abuse which is experienced every day, but whose dramatic implications often remain unnoticed.