I am paper - An exploration of Tomaso Binga’s poetry. Performance by Matilde Cerruti Quara

08.02.2024
Mudam Luxembourg - Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean
‪@mudamlux‬
Italian-British artist, poet and performer Matilde Cerruti Quara will recite, in her own style of delivery, a series of poems by Binga she selected amidst those showcased in the exhibition, in both their original version and in English.
“To bring words to life is one of my main obsessions. I was given the chance to dive into Binga’s archive of poems and select those who resonated the most with me. It must be said Binga has a very distinct way of reading her work. So here comes the exploration, the joy of the experiment: in performing them, I will maintain my own style of delivery, intertwining our practices in an embrace, proving the endless possibilities of language and words to come alive and allowing a space of reflection to witness how relevant Binga’s words still sound. Within this poetry performance my intention is to put my own craft at service to homage Tomaso’s courage, humour, activism and avantgardism, to say THANK YOU for her inspiring resilience, commitment and labour. To feel the imaginary bloodline bridging our generations and see where we intersect and where we differ and why. So for instance for most of it I will be wearing a men suit to recall her 1977 piece Bianca Menna and Tomaso Binga Brides Today where she photographed herself as Bianca Menna, dressed as a bride, next to herself dressed as a groom and that was Tomaso Binga-in an epoch when to be taken seriously, nevermind getting the attention of the art world, and especially in Italy, you had to be a man. I’m a female queer artist with a style that is dictated pretty exclusively by my own taste or practical needs, rather than a conceptual statement so it felt like an interesting point of reflection. How fashion changes its subtext across decades. Here is an outfit I could be normally, casually wearing to perform my poetry as much as to go groceries, really. There is such huge freedom of expression I can take for granted today, which was really not-so-obvious back in Binga’s days.”
Matilde Cerruti Quara
Within the framework of the exhibition ‘A Model’
09.02 - 08.09.2024
Mudam Luxembourg - Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean
Curator: Bettina Steinbrügge
Associate curators: Sarah Beaumont, Clément Minighetti and Joel Valabrega
Research team: Tess Mazuet, António Mendes, Carlotta Pierleoni, Jade Saber
The poems by Tomaso Binga:
‘Radio Taxi’, 1987, ‘Donna dado’, 1974, ‘E io non te la do’, 1976, ‘Poesia Muta’, 1976, ‘Lilith’, 1979, ‘a Penelope’, 1979, ‘Marilyn’, 1979, ‘Madre Lupo’, 1980, ’Sogn’ogn’or, 1999, ‘Utero di Sirena’, 2016, ‘Io sono una carta’, 1976
The works of Tomaso Binga in this exhibition are:
‘Carta da parato’, 1977, ‘I write you only on Sundays’, 2017, ‘Io sono Io, Io sono Me’, 1976, ‘Mater’, 1977 - 2015, ‘Bianca Menna e Tomaso Binga Oggi spose’, 1977 - 2019
Courtesy of Archivio Tomaso Binga and Galleria Tiziana Di Caro
‘Alfabeto proverbiale’, 1999
Courtesy of Tomaso Binga and Galleria Tiziana Di Caro
Video: Linus Kaufhold | HENCI - Media Endeavors
Production: Mudam Luxembourg