Referring to an idea
2022


Where do we go from Residenz Platz, the central square in Salzburg? Well, for 80 euros per hour a Fiaker will take you on a tour through the city titled Horse-Powered Sightseeing.

Whose strength is powering this machine and what propels it? What you don't see in the 180° view from the carriage is a bicycle rider following you to collect horse shit that falls out along the way.

Nicola Bizzarri did research starting from an image of a pile of shit appearing as a bug in the staged authenticity of Salzburg. Nicola met two migrant workers and presented them with a list of questions, translating his curiosity into the Romanian language. Two workers gave him a bucket of horse shit they collected and Nicola made paper sheets out of it. Papers are places that host documents - written, printed, or electronic matter that provides information or evidence or that serves as an official record.
In his installation, a line floats above us declaring an intent: Awakening and preserving the love of local customs. It is the epitome of an association, a constitutional excerpt imagined for regulating workers’ rights and working conditions. On which values, the importance is placed while representing cultural identity? Referring to an idea presents a text that is not caught on paper, paper made of horse shit and designs of crests for a non-existing association.

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Looking at both artworld and tourism, constructing their spatial narratives and setting the power dynamics among people, what present rituals are worth preserving and for whom? Who is left with the crap of predominant structures? The contrast between the fantastic idea and material reality of any cultural artefact exists
beyond comprehension. Horses are appropriated as symbols of beauty, strength and independence. The animals themselves are working in commercial settings and other events. The same goes for people, there is an idea and there is then actuality. In the role-playing of performing identity, what is the level of our personal stamina and ability to jump over obstacles, while dealing with the outside world?

Text by Elena Apostolovsky