Andrea Ferrero
I see you falling in my den
a cura di Veronica Botta
Andrea Ferrero, All the King’s Horses, 2024. Chocolate, natural pigments, stainless steel refrigerators, wrought iron gates, red carpet, 900 x 900 x 210 cm. Courtesy of the artist
"I think a lot about how the architectures of power influence the way we imagine and move through the world — an experience that begins to take shape already in play. In Avigliana, I was drawn to local legends and myths: I imagined the creatures that guard the ruins of the castle, suspended between menace and mischief."
Set in the gardens beneath the remains of Avigliana Castle, a swing is inhabited by hybrid beings, almost like protectors and companions. Their form draws on the imagery of medieval creatures, evoking a context shaped by myths and local narratives. The dual structure, meanwhile, recalls the nearby lakes, hinting at a landscape marked by division yet rooted in a shared formation. Suspended between the reassuring and the unsettling, they depend on the visitor’s movement, shifting character as they are set in motion and turning from distant watchers into accomplices.
Borrowing from the familiar language of playgrounds, the installation unfolds in a space connected to the presence of the castle, where traces of authority today meet a changing present. What was once a site tied to control is thus reimagined as a place that invites play and transgression, understood as new ways of relating to power. The grotesque, once a marker of exclusion, becomes a site of encounter and community, and play a tool for renegotiating authority.
Thanks to: the Municipality of Avignana, Mayor Andrea Archinà, Sonia Carella, the Association Amici di Avigliana, Silvio Amprino, Ecovolontari Avigliana Group, Michele Petrera, Arnaldo Reviglio, Piero della Betta, Guido Castagna.
Andrea Ferrero (Lima, Peru, 1991) lives and works in Mexico City. She earned a degree in Sculpture from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and participated in the SOMA Academic Program (2019-2021) in Mexico City. Rooted in the subversion of power dynamics, her work transforms structures that once demanded reverence into stages of fragility and play.
Combining materials ranging from aluminum casting and ironwork to chocolate production, she creates immersive installations that often invite the audience to engage in intimate acts of irreverence, performative play, and edible banquets. She has presented solo exhibitions in Guadalajara, New York, Seoul, Lima, and Milan, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including the Malta Biennale (MT, 2024) and Otrxs Mundxs at Museo Tamayo (Mexico City, MX, 2024).
Veronica Botta (Treviso, 1990) is a curator and producer working in the field of contemporary art. Her research focuses on site-specific projects and expanded exhibitions. She handled the curatorial coordination of the 2024 and 2025 editions of Panorama for ITALICS and, since 2023, has been Head of the Franco Mazzucchelli Archive. Previously, she served as Exhibition and Production Coordinator at MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome and managed LAYR gallery in Rome. She has collaborated with numerous public and private institutions and has been a lecturer at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma and NABA. For Una Boccata d’Arte 2025, she curated the project by Bibi Manavi in Piedmont.
Located in a natural morainic amphitheater, Avigliana is a medieval village in the Lower Susa Valley at the foot of Mount Pirchiriano, where the famous religious complex of the Sacra di San Michele stands. The castle, built at the beginning of the 10th century and reduced to ruins in 1691, towers above the town, offering a unique viewpoint over the peak of Mount Rocciamelone.
Avigliana is renowned for its two lakes, Lago Piccolo and Lago Grande, two bodies of water set within a vast green area. The Natural Park that encompasses them features a diverse ecosystem: rolling hills, the marshy Mareschi area, and the two lakes. Three distinct yet interconnected habitats make this environment an essential stop for many species of migratory birds.