Opening: Saturday 28.06.2025, h 18.30 pm, Parco della Fontana del Faet
Via Faet, 16, Cormons (GO)
In case of bad weather, an alternative location for the inauguration will be announced. It is recommended to park in the town center and reach the park on foot.
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Discover the map hereㅤ
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Click here to download the invitation and press kit.
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MĒTAsêm is an expanded installation stemming from a historical and anthropological investigation into the geographical and metaphysical borders of Friuli. The title merges “mēta” (Longobard Friulian) and “sêm” (Slovene Friulian), both meaning “boundary stone”—a symbol of ambiguity and transition.
The work originates from the Faet Fountain, where the Diàbolos—a liminal creature between spirit and metal—introduces a sound narrative in the form of a quadraphonic radio drama in four languages: German, Slovene, Friulian, and Italian.
During the “blue hour,” voices guide the audience toward a symbolic borderland, where a banner inspired by Voronoi diagrams and the Sezessionstil style evokes landscapes and stories of the territory. At the center of the project is water—mythical and ambiguous—which becomes a connecting thread for a fluid and ever-evolving identity, also echoed in the writings of Carlo Ginzburg and Dolfo Zorzut.
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Artworks:
01. Babau, Diàbolos, 2025, resin mask with galvanic treatment, 40 x 40 x 10 cm
Parco della Fontana del Faet, Via Faet 16, Cormons (GO)
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02. Babau, Palûd/Preval, 2025, banner on windproof fabric, 400 x 100 cm
Parco della Fontana del Faet, Via Faet 16, Cormons (GO)
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03. Babau, Mappa di confine, 2025, print on parchment paper, 70 x 90 cm
Parco della Fontana del Faet, Via Faet, 16, Cormons (GO)
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04. Babau, MĒTAsêm, 2025, quadraphonic sound installation
Azienda Agricola Gradnik, Località Plessiva, 5 bis, Cormons (GO)
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To fully experience the installation, position yourself at the center.
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Cormons (GO)
28.06.2025
Parco della Fontana del Faet Via Faet, 16
16:30
"MĒTASÊM" IS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH INTO THE MEANINGS AND EFFECTS OF BORDERS, THRESHOLDS, AND LIMITS—GEOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, AND METAPHYSICAL. OBJECTS, AMBIGUOUS WATERS, AND SOUND NARRATIVES BECOME TOOLS TO COLLAPSE AND BLUR EACH OF THESE IMAGINARY LINES.
Babau is an Italian music duo formed by Luigi Monteanni and Matteo Pennesi, exploring the intersection of exotica, computer music, and transglobal sonic subcultures in the post-internet age. Emerging from their hometown of Potenza Picena in 2014 with the EP Papalagi, their work unfolds as an ongoing investigation into sound as a vessel for cultural speculation and digital myth-making.
Their releases span collaborations with platforms like Discrepant, Bamboo Shows, and their own imprint Artetetra, a project devoted to practice-based research on digital folklore and exoticism in late globalization. Artetetra’s curatorial and artistic work has garnered attention from The New York Times, Coeval Mag, Resident Advisor, Artribune, Rolling Stone, Tiny Mix Tapes, and Zero.eu, with The Wire featuring them in its 400th issue through an article by Simon Reynolds.
Selected as SHAPE+ artists for 2022/23, Babau have released several albums, including their most recent work – developed during the Spazio Libero project at Casa degli Artisti in Milan – which is forthcoming on the Impatience label.
Their live performances have resonated across venues ranging from underground DIY spaces to major festivals like CTM (DE), Club To Club (IT), Outernational Days (RO), Terraforma (IT), and Saturnalia (IT), Onlyfuckinglabels (MC).
Cormons lies in the heart of the Collio area, among the neatly arranged rows of vineyards and at the foot of Quarin Mountain. A place of history, art, and nature, the village has witnessed significant historical events, evidenced by the ruins of its castle and the remaining medieval traces, but above all by its elegant historic center with a strong Austro-Hungarian legacy. Walking through the town, one can discover hidden corners, precious architecture, and charming squares, such as Piazza della Libertà, home to the statue of Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg, and Piazza XXIV Maggio, where the eighteenth-century Palazzo Locatelli stands, now housing the Town Hall and overlooking an Italian garden that faces the Museo del Territorio. The museum hosts a section dedicated to the sculptor Alfonso Canciani from Cormons, who trained in the Vienna of the Secession. Next door, the Liberty-style building houses the renewed Enoteca – Center for the Promotion and Valorization of the Collio Territory. Not far away, the Duomo dominates the scene, surrounded by an ancient complex of walls and buildings connected by a maze of alleys. Climbing Quarin Mountain, one reaches the Chiesa della Beata Vergine del Soccorso (Church of the Blessed Virgin of Succor), which offers a beautiful panoramic view. In the immediate surroundings, trails and bike paths wind through woods and vineyards, inviting enthusiasts to explore.
Cormons is inextricably linked to the excellence of its wines, known worldwide and celebrated each September since 1932 during the traditional Festa dell’Uva (Grape Festival). Completing the area's gastronomic identity are its culinary specialties, an inheritance of Friulian, Slovenian, and German traditions, including the renowned plum gnocchi.
Marta Oliva (1994) is a curator and cultural producer working at the intersection of music and visual arts. Her research investigates the relationships between listening, publishing, and storytelling, giving rise to sound experiments and interdisciplinary projects. She has collaborated with independent organizations and institutions both in Italy and abroad, including Radio Alhara, Wonder Cabinet, Fondazione Elpis, IUAV, and the Venice Biennale. In 2020, she founded Publishing Station, a platform that connects creatives, labels, and independent publications. Marta is also the creator of a monthly radio show on Radio Alhara and an integral part of Threes Productions, where she promotes an innovative and sustainable vision of musical culture. She currently lives and works in Milan, where she continues to explore new expressive formats and develop initiatives involving emerging artists.For Una Boccata d’Arte, she has curated the Friuli Venezia Giulia projects of Irini Karannayoupolou in Polcenigo (2021), Riccardo Benassi in Pesariis (2022), Judith Hopf in Aquileia (2023), and Mariona Canadas and Pedro Murúa in Paluzza (2024).