Margherita Raso’s work in Petritoli, a village situated in the Marche region, is a sound installation that polarizes the visitor’s attention in the theatre Teatro Comunale dell’Iride. The artist’s research investigates certain linguistic and communicative aspects of the whistle-sound, subverting the location’s semantic logic and overturning its fundamental functional aspects. The stage becomes accessible, the stalls are a natural setting, a bare ambiance of special beauty, enlivened by the decorations and friezes of the boxes. The timing dynamics are no longer dictated by the theatrical performance, instead, it is the spectator who determines the onstage temporal sequence. Composed of different types of human whistles, Eight Types of Whistle reflects on the theatre’s delicate communal work system, on its rules, and its superstitions. Historically used as a communication tool, the whistle belonged solely to stage technicians, often sailors or dock workers, who, experts in knots and free from giddiness, were able to operate the rope hoists and rapid set changes in safety. In order not to get confused with the command signals, in the theatre as in the open sea, carelessly “whistling around” was and remains strictly prohibited.

The work underlines how the value of a whistle – a sound that survives midway between a musical instrument and the voice – changes in relation to the context or to a particular communication system. In Eight Types of Whistle, time is the medium, and the absence of the body is an integral part of the work. The sound moves within the architecture through different loudspeakers that enable its spatialization. The piece continues outside the building with a series of posters describing, by means of the written word, the different types of whistle present in the sound composition. Displayed in the village streets, the poster-images construct a visual depiction of the sonic action and define the work’s role in the public space.

Exhibited works:
01. Margherita Raso, Eight Types of Whistle, 2023. Multi-channel sound installation. Enviromental dimensions.

Teatro Comunale dell’Iride, Via Teatro 4, 63848 Petritoli (FM).
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02. Margherita Raso, Rehearsal #1 - #8, 2023. 8 digital prints on blue back, 70 × 100 cm.
Artworks can be found on billboards along the streets of the village.

The artistic practice of Margherita Raso (Lecco, 1991) ranges across numerous mediums, in particular sculpture and site-specific installation. She graduated in Visual Arts at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and currently attends the Institut Kunst FHNW in Basel, Switzerland. From 2014 to 2019, she co-founded the artist-run space Armada, Milan. Her recent solo exhibitions include: Vizio di Forma, Magazzino Italian Art, New York (USA, 2022); Casting The Tempo, Abbazia di Santa Maria in Lucedio, Vercelli (IT, 2021); Canal, Bible, New York (USA, 2018); Piercing, Fanta-MLN, Milan (IT, 2017). Her works have been included in group exhibitions at: Sonnenstube, Lugano (CH, 2023); Kaufmann Repetto, New York (USA, 2023); Little, Bern (CH, 2022); CFA, Milan (IT, 2021); Museo Novecento, Florence (IT, 2021); Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan (IT, 2021); MACRO, Rome (IT, 2021); Villa Olmo, Como (IT, 2021); Fanta-MLN, Milan (IT, 2020); WPN-NYC, New York (USA, 2019); WallRiss, Freiburg (CH, 2019); MAMbo, Bologna (IT, 2018); Armada, Milan (IT, 2016); Komplot, Brussels (BE, 2015).