Pietra Galli

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	<title>Pietra Galli</title>
	<link>https://pietragalli.com</link>
	<description>Pietra Galli</description>
	<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 23:28:52 +0000</pubDate>
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	<language>en</language>
	
		
	<item>
		<title>Quintal (Backyard)</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/Quintal-Backyard-1</link>

		<comments></comments>

		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 23:28:52 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">458923</guid>

		<description>
	
	
	Quintal (Backyard)
	&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f414563c09f5782385cf84640e512be5005857b939446b7171677fdfd9294008/IMG_6966.jpg" data-mid="1429668" border="0" data-scale="21"/&#62;

	
&#60;img width="2622" height="3278" width_o="2622" height_o="3278" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/523ccbf88354d4cc9a2079777e8ae31c7e0e247e57c4ecb7ed4ad3d5f7c5dc0b/campinho.jpeg" data-mid="1429670" border="0" data-scale="69"/&#62;
 &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;Abacate-goiaba (Campinho) /&#38;nbsp;Avocado-guava, 2025.&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;Oil pastel on paper, 30 x 42 cm.
	&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#60;img width="3134" height="4701" width_o="3134" height_o="4701" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/a875e9f76c18de0c60cf6c589e6685e3e1f7855658b82e8ac79c3ec6f239680f/goiabeira.jpeg" data-mid="1435363" border="0" data-scale="67"/&#62;
&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Goiabeira / Guava tree, 2026.
&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Oil pastel on plaster over wood, 20 x 15 x 2 cm.


&#60;img width="3456" height="5184" width_o="3456" height_o="5184" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/1ae85092bc9cbf8acd091737fe736f5724d98e749a0bdfae17ce1ee76a00341f/Rocha-2025.JPG" data-mid="1433480" border="0" data-scale="54"/&#62;
&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Rocha / Rock, 2025&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Coloured pencil on plaster over wood, 27 x 18 x 1 cm.


	&#60;img width="1200" height="1500" width_o="1200" height_o="1500" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/34232fb253372e49e8f6dabdb26dd02800083f68343b75e475d10eb32f32218f/Tunel-light-2.jpeg" data-mid="1429812" border="0" data-scale="70"/&#62;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Túnel / Tunnel, 2025.
 &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Coloured pencil on plaster over wood, 15x15x1cm.


&#60;img width="2732" height="4098" width_o="2732" height_o="4098" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7c0bcc525c723bee3348f7edc6cc4d349aabb7da4bf97d26412faeda1b3688d4/Firefly-2025.jpeg" data-mid="1429833" border="0" data-scale="55"/&#62;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;Vagalume / Firefly, 2025. &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Coloured pencil on plaster over wood, 5 x 5 x 2 cm.


&#60;img width="4777" height="3185" width_o="4777" height_o="3185" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/e0ac1141c42add6ba865831af8b989782fa111faecc04eae219994dbe2e75411/o-acidente-close-up.jpeg" data-mid="1429815" border="0" data-scale="47"/&#62;
&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; O Acidente / The Accident, 2025.
 &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Coloured pencil on plaster over wood, 18 x 8 x 1 cm.


&#60;img width="5006" height="3337" width_o="5006" height_o="3337" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/12e6e49b6f276f3c9873fba09920bf137b913dd70ee4a966e2a723d4699eeb51/dois-morros-close-up.jpeg" data-mid="1429836" border="0" data-scale="81"/&#62;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Dois Morros / Two Hills, 2025. &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Coloured pencil on plaster over wood, 15 x 8 x 1 cm.


&#60;img width="1337" height="2006" width_o="1337" height_o="2006" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/e7da5f7a17921e053fc06301c3616d79858c059345ce866fcf2473eebcbbd3d0/armario-2.jpg" data-mid="1435366" border="0" data-scale="49"/&#62;
&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Armarinho dos Remédios (específico pessoa) / 
&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; Medicine Cupboard (específico pessoa), 2026.&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; 
Coloured pencil on plaster over wood, 5 x 6 x 2 cm.


&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp;

	
&#60;img width="2883" height="3330" width_o="2883" height_o="3330" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/06c5b305f60269f9327d0a4ed5a5dd30f376ff728ac46a9b6973bcd8f54e7301/Guardian-Angel-2025.jpg" data-mid="1429851" border="0" data-scale="49"/&#62;
&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;  Anjo da Guarda / Guardian Angel, 2025&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;  &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;Coloured pencil on plaster over wood, 19 x 15 x 2 cm.

	Quintal is an ongoing project depicting memories and narratives from my childhood spent in a remote neighbourhood in South Brazil. The title is a reference to our house’s backyard (’quintal’), a space in between wild flora and human adaptation.Each memory is organised into a series of drawings, text and ceramics that challenge these memories’s origin between fact and imagination, as they have mutated over the years after being revisited over and over again in the form of dreams and storytelling.These personal narratives expose a co-existence between the natural and the human worlds, the fantastical and the mundane, which are inseparable in childhood but tend to disperse in adulthood.
	Quintal é um projeto em desenvolvimento que retrata memórias e narrativas da minha infância passada num bairro remoto no sul do Brasil. O título faz referência ao nosso quintal de casa, um espaço entre flora selvagem e pequenas intervenções humanas.Cada narrativa é organizada numa série de desenhos, cerâmica e texto que desafiam a origem destas memórias entre facto e imaginação, tendo sido revisitadas diversas vezes em conversas e sonhos ao longo dos anos.Dentro destas narrativas é visível uma co-existência entre o mundo natural e o humano, entre o fantástico e o mundano, tão inseparáveis durante a infância mas que tendem a desfazer-se durante a vida adulta.
</description>
		
		<excerpt>Quintal (Backyard) 	  	   &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;Abacate-goiaba (Campinho)...</excerpt>

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	</item>
		
		
	<item>
		<title>There Is No Falling</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/There-Is-No-Falling</link>

		<comments></comments>

		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Apr 2025 09:29:46 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">456580</guid>

		<description>
	There Is No Falling
	&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7768154bea95f2d7f2a5cbe201c9f98e1e12824df5552cc25915884ee399cd6e/image.jpeg" data-mid="1404855" border="0" data-scale="21"/&#62;

	
&#60;img width="4231" height="2821" width_o="4231" height_o="2821" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/380884cb97c748221431b9877d89ab1f8a6d883b1797d3c91c5a0512f9f6e022/IMG_8631.jpeg" data-mid="1404858" border="0" /&#62;There Is No Falling, 2017. Ceramic, plaster, video projector, 120x30cm.


&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; There Is No Falling, 2017. 1min 59sec, digital video.


	&#60;img width="3456" height="5184" width_o="3456" height_o="5184" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/cc05d74dfc73f61d2ebc316a535be2e49c3289e79d78f08b17f54082b2336780/IMG_8638_.jpeg" data-mid="1404860" border="0" /&#62;
There Is No Falling, 2017. Detail of video projection on screen.

	&#60;img width="3189" height="4784" width_o="3189" height_o="4784" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5d505fcdcfef585df82c7226acecf42cc29c4889e39a7dae9ca8f3ffd992a802/IMG_8645.jpeg" data-mid="1404856" border="0" data-scale="61"/&#62;There Is No Falling, 2017. Ceramic, plaster, video projector, 120x30cm.

	&#60;img width="1400" height="2450" width_o="1400" height_o="2450" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/83ef28d14ac15277a91f3214c1344fc85195fe7deaaef18b30dd1f30c4b7d962/IMG_8637_.jpeg" data-mid="1404859" border="0" data-scale="81"/&#62;There Is No Falling, 2017. Ceramic, plaster, video projection, metal, screen, 120x30cm.


	&#60;img width="3393" height="5089" width_o="3393" height_o="5089" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/ba0ae8482d56dcf30ed21eaedecc70fe0aae82488a2ac90af814552083d254d7/IMG_8648.jpeg" data-mid="1404863" border="0" data-scale="61"/&#62;There Is No Falling, 2017. Detail of video projector pocke

	There Is No Falling is a three-part project beginning in October 2017 and ending on June 2018. Initially planned as a fictional documentary about an island seen on a navigational software, it developed to the study of the complex geographical relationship between the one looking at the screen, the chosen island and the satellite that captured its image from outside the globe. It was inspired by Hito Steyerl’s essay In Free Fall: A Thought Experiment on Vertical Perspective, published on e-flux in 2011.There Is No Falling&#38;nbsp;is the first act of the project and was exhibited at Chelsea College of Arts WIP show in 2017.&#38;nbsp;
	There Is No Falling é um projeto de três partes tendo início em Outubro de 2017 e finalizado em Junho de 2018. Inicialmente planeado como um documentário fictício sobre uma ilha vista num software de navegação, desenvolveu-se numa pesquisa auto-fictícia sobre a relação geográfica complexa entre a pessoa que observa a ilha através do ecrã, a ilha, e o satélite que captura a sua imagem fora do globo terrestre. O projeto foi inspirado pelo ensaio de Hito Steyerl In Free Fall: A Thought Experiment on Vertical Perspective, publicado no e-flux em 2011. There Is No Falling é o primeiro ato do projeto e foi apresentado na exposição WIP da Chelsea College of Arts em 2017.


</description>
		
		<excerpt>There Is No Falling 	  	 There Is No Falling, 2017. Ceramic, plaster, video projector, 120x30cm.    	 &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;...</excerpt>

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	</item>
		
		
	<item>
		<title>Is-land</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/Is-land</link>

		<comments></comments>

		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Apr 2025 13:26:44 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">456559</guid>

		<description>Is-land&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/a45a553f9f3a575698e9bccf4719bb9df6fa5e3c4e455a95c631920b2159c94e/Pe.jpg" data-mid="1404436" border="0" data-scale="20"/&#62;
&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;  Is-land, 3min 20sec, digital video, 2018.


	&#60;img width="4844" height="3229" width_o="4844" height_o="3229" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/896b4a4f4ab4fc077092a797c73cb86a7de1efc4810cdbff6e00b06830cf06e9/IMG_9115.jpeg" data-mid="1404438" border="0" data-scale="96"/&#62;

	&#60;img width="5184" height="3456" width_o="5184" height_o="3456" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7ca0062f2c952254f33186b5651d09872b040794bea224740b0de9f842ba95cc/IMG_9133.jpeg" data-mid="1404449" border="0" data-scale="70"/&#62;

&#38;nbsp; Is-land, installion view, video projection, glass, speaker, ceramics, plaster. Shown at Interim Show, Chelsea College of Arts, 2018.

	&#60;img width="3456" height="5184" width_o="3456" height_o="5184" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/754547c4eca694bb119ea517e75610daced387290b79090d9fd890330a64cab8/IMG_9153.jpeg" data-mid="1404445" border="0" /&#62;Is-land, installion view, 2018.

	
	Part 1

I am sure there must be many islands one is not aware of. Temporary ones,dependent on the sea level. (1)When the tide is up, some might be submersed waiting to be revealed when itgoes down again. (2) While this happens on one side of the planet the opposite followson the other side. (3)

Part 2


Perhaps sea rocks could be also seen as instant islands. One minute, one might
be climbing these rocks, (4) observing its voids as big valleys. (5) On the next, watchingthem slowly sink into the sea. (6)

Part 3


In any case water is implicit when thinking about islands. (7)

1. Because it is part of their own definition
2. Because it is part of their formation process

1.1(Island as a place) Island. Is-land. Isolated land. (8) Place for reflection and
isolation - self-recognition. Stagnation but also a result of movement and reaction.These lands represent mobility and instability. (9)

2.1. Starting with the high temperature magma boiling and erupting into the
water. (10) The contrast of two elements: the heat of an emerging land and the
coldness of the deep sea. (11)
2.2. The ocean’s constant movement: its waves and currents bringing and
taking sand away. (12) Either the waves are breaking off the mainland into isolated
fragments or creating new ones, by slowly pilling up the same sand. (13)
Forming an Island, 2018.


	There Is No Falling is a three-part project beginning in October 2017 and ending on June 2018. Initially planned as a fictional documentary about an island seen on a navigational software, it developed to a semi-fictional study of the complex geographical relationship between the one looking at the screen, the chosen island and the satellite that captured its image from outside the globe. It was inspired by Hito Steyerl’s essay In Free Fall: A Thought Experiment on Vertical Perspective, published on e-flux in 2011.
Is-land is the second act of the project and was exhibited at Chelsea College of Arts Interim Show in 2018. Inspired by conversations at the dinner table with my dad and his various attempts to describe scientic phenomenons with objects he found within his hands reach, Is-land, focuses on interpretation and perspective in human’s nature.The video was made in collaboration with Rosie Abbey, who translated the text piece into hand gestures using domestic objects and food as metaphors to explain a geological and distant element: the formation of an island. 
	There Is No Falling é um projeto de três partes tendo início em Outubro de 2017 e finalizado em Junho de 2018. Inicialmente planeado como um documentário fictício sobre uma ilha vista num software de navegação, desenvolveu-se numa pesquisa auto-fictícia sobre a relação geográfica complexa entre a pessoa que observa a ilha através do ecrã, a ilha, e o satélite que captura a sua imagem fora do globo terrestre. O projeto foi inspirado pelo ensaio de Hito Steyerl In Free Fall: A Thought Experiment on Vertical Perspective, publicado no e-flux em 2011. Is-land&#38;nbsp;é o segundo ato do projeto e foi apresentado na exposição Interim da Chelsea College of Arts em 2018. Inspirado por conversas à mesa do jantar com o meu pai e as suas várias tentativas de explicar fenómenos científicos com objetos encontrados ao seu alcance, Is-land, reflete sobre o papel da interpretação e perspetiva dentro da natureza humana.
O vídeo foi feito em colaboração com Rosie Abbey, artista que traduziu o texto em sinais gestuais, utilizando comida e objetos domésticoscomo metáforas para explicar um elemento distante e geológico: a formação de uma ilha.


</description>
		
		<excerpt>Is-land &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;  Is-land, 3min 20sec, digital video, 2018.   	  	  &#38;nbsp; Is-land, installion view, video projection, glass,...</excerpt>

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	</item>
		
		
	<item>
		<title>Embracing</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/Embracing</link>

		<comments></comments>

		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Mar 2025 18:10:37 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">456323</guid>

		<description>
	Embracing

	&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/685d6b1754473554f7a81109adbb38d8e49cb6dfac5b435ece4e63bedb8d96fb/IMG_6966.jpg" data-mid="1401591" border="0" data-scale="17"/&#62;

	&#60;img width="3853" height="3853" width_o="3853" height_o="3853" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5469c04e1003aaba9cdd134544666e11b8f6ac17c5fefa4c1306ebfb54db7eae/FA-REF-0584-1.jpeg" data-mid="1401594" border="0" /&#62;&#60;img width="3359" height="3359" width_o="3359" height_o="3359" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/642c16ea33a9c77b8da58487f803b5819b2a340ae54ec3f56ef3eacacca552ce/FA-REF-0686-1.jpeg" data-mid="1401598" border="0" /&#62;&#60;img width="3730" height="3730" width_o="3730" height_o="3730" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5d374657af7afb9a807788a0e3f8a3d4da4be503752420750ea57d6d63d98175/FA-REF-0788-1.jpeg" data-mid="1401601" border="0" /&#62;&#60;img width="3942" height="3942" width_o="3942" height_o="3942" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/cbf162199fa5b42321aa6bac140762a735f701deb8508465e264c1230a3911b9/FA-REF-0793-1.jpeg" data-mid="1401599" border="0" /&#62;
	&#60;img width="3594" height="3594" width_o="3594" height_o="3594" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/c344b119ff63f44a606390837899c78b5878ddb32c84e8d6adcae44fd4c8fc21/FA-REF-0685-1.jpeg" data-mid="1401595" border="0" /&#62;&#60;img width="3788" height="3788" width_o="3788" height_o="3788" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/8874c152a22276f8834f73608584c51031a35efcb1d140a272d36db372f9f6ff/FA-REF-0789-1.jpeg" data-mid="1401597" border="0" /&#62;&#60;img width="3718" height="3718" width_o="3718" height_o="3718" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3700b89456c0e5547873b589e4cf2e3a75fef07be03a07a6b14f7a7b9f103047/FA-REF-0791-1.jpeg" data-mid="1401596" border="0" /&#62;&#60;img width="3838" height="3838" width_o="3838" height_o="3838" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f6919ca04f46c02bb9e5164e2ce6216a0505b93e467a832fb04949c175c2b6ff/FA-REF-0790-1.jpeg" data-mid="1401600" border="0" /&#62;&#38;nbsp;Embracing, 2024.Beeswax, string, stoneware ceramics, underglaze pencil.
Various sizes. 
Pictures by Filipa Pinto da Silva


A dialogue between two childhood friends is materialised in a limited collection of amulet-pieces in ceramics and beeswax. From different cities, London and Porto, and two different practices, both artists share ideas of protection, care and connection.
The result is a limited collection of candle holders in black and white stoneware made by Pietra Galli, and beeswax candles made by Mafalda Costa. Each candle is made specifically to its holder, representing a joined force.
Embracing is a collaborative project with artist Mafalda Costa. It was exhibited at the group show Feira do Equinócio at Atelier Felipa Almeida, Lisbon, in 2024.


Um diálogo entre duas amigas de infância materializa-se numa coleção limitada de peças-amuleto em cerâmica e cera de abelha. A partir de duas cidades, Londres e Porto, e duas práticas, partilhamos sentimentos de proteção, carinho e conexão. 
A coleção é composta por peças em grés negro chamotado e branco feitas por Pietra Galli, e velas de cera de abelha feitas por Mafalda Costa. Cada vela pertence ao seu suporte específico, criada especialmente para o seu encaixe, representando uma força conjunta.
Embracing é um projeto colaborativo com a artista Mafalda Costa. As peças foram apresentadas na exposição de grupo Feira do Equinócio&#38;nbsp;no Atelier Felipa Almeida, Lisboa, em 2024.</description>
		
		<excerpt>Embracing  	  	 	&#38;nbsp;Embracing, 2024.Beeswax, string, stoneware ceramics, underglaze pencil. Various sizes.  Pictures by Filipa Pinto da Silva   A dialogue...</excerpt>

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	<item>
		<title>Tarot Interviews</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/Tarot-Interviews</link>

		<comments></comments>

		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Nov 2024 13:33:22 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">454943</guid>

		<description>
	Tarot Interviews
	
&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/4d772f92163b734e6ce758af491bcaa0957a9e3a70525675a57da7f1603ff10c/IMG_6966.jpg" data-mid="1385165" border="0" data-scale="17"/&#62;


A series of six interviews with six multidisciplinary artists for&#38;nbsp;Schema Magazine’s first issue - Tilda’s Tale.
Inspired by the magazine’s theme of ‘Building Castles in the Sky’ talking about prophecies and fortune telling, I developed twenty-four questions split into eight main themes:
Fantasy, Challenge, Breakthrough, Blockage, Release, Advice and Intuition. The questions were written onto cards that were used to draw six questions for each interviewee, replicating the setting of a tarot reading and creating a unique combination of questions for each one. 
The recipients could reply to the questions in their own desired order and also had the option to replace one of the questions with a new draw if they wished to.
FANTASY
Can you name three women that are sources of inspiration for you?
What childhood dream do you still want to accomplish?How has your idea of success changed over the years?

CHALLENGE
Can you describe a time when things didn’t go as planned but that worked out for the better?
What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far?
Do challenges make you feel more fearless or more cautious?
BREAKTHROUGH
What makes you feel powerful?
Can you describe a time an illusion dismantled in front of you?Can you describe a time you experienced something magical?
BLOCKAGE

What is your creative process like?
In what medium do you feel you express yourself the best?
What helps you get out of a mental block?
RELEASE

When do you feel the most free?
What is a scent or a place that makes you feel like a child again?
What do you do to release bottled-up energy?
ADVICEWhat piece of life advice have you received that has stayed with you?
How do you keep yourself away from self-sabotage?
What advice do you need right now?
INTUITIONIs there an activity or a place that makes you feel more in touch with yourself?If you had a supportive imaginary friend what would they be like?What is the role of intuition in your work?
DECISION
Have you got a go-to ritual for when you need to think through a difficult decision?What has been the boldest move you have made for your career?Can you name a book, a film, or an idol that inspired you to make an important decision in your life and explain how?&#60;img width="2160" height="2721" width_o="2160" height_o="2721" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/57939f2d382b1715965cf114f613445e2ee44f9d75ee88f4bb7777f8fc0e1a7d/IMG_3034.jpg" data-mid="1401628" border="0" /&#62;
Sketchbook page with brainstorming: paper fortune teller.


&#60;img width="1400" height="905" width_o="1400" height_o="905" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/dc6610d61cf7134cc92f731110778876d5457d1f7e4e1e3ce5f8bdce246183a5/schema_issue01_web_16-1400x.jpg" data-mid="1385178" border="0" data-scale="85"/&#62;
&#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;  Page with Nihura Montiel’s interview.


Interviewees: 
Nihura Montiel Cecile BelieveMarina MelentievaEmma AlvinUrte KatAntje Peters

	&#60;img width="750" height="1002" width_o="750" height_o="1002" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/fe95128e83c375e7c606f76d35a3bd9aa9dbe0e840d7b0137146410e31fcc104/Captura-de-ecra-2024-11-20--as-13.57.31.png" data-mid="1385177" border="0" /&#62;Tilda’s Tale cover by Boris Camaca.&#38;nbsp;Available to purchase here.

</description>
		
		<excerpt>Tarot Interviews 	    A series of six interviews with six multidisciplinary artists for&#38;nbsp;Schema Magazine’s first issue - Tilda’s Tale. Inspired by the...</excerpt>

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	<item>
		<title>CV</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/CV</link>

		<comments></comments>

		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Jun 2024 15:18:52 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">453236</guid>

		<description>
	
	&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/c2da05de2d8553419ef0108778fce7ca01be03c679d67dd2b69d9891cb4cdd1f/IMG_6966.jpg" data-mid="1366447" border="0" data-scale="21"/&#62;

	Education
2018 BA in Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts
	
	
, UAL London

2015 Foundation Diploma in Sculpture, CCW, UAL, London

2014 Diploma in Theatre Production, Escola Artistica de Soares dos Reis, Porto

Exhibitions2026Group show, Casa da Sogra
Galeria Gare, São Paulo

Group show, Órbitas
Gisela Projects at Taller Zaragoza, São Paulo

2025
Group show, LanceMAB Annex FAAP - Centre, São Paulo
2024
Group show, FEASTCounty Hall Pottery, LondonGroup show, Fundraiser
San Mei Gallery, LondonWindow installation, Embracing,
 Collaboration with Mafalda Costa at North Street Potters, London

Group show, Ensaios de uma ColeçãoCollaboration with Rita de Almeida Leite at Galeria Municipal, Porto
Group show, Feira do Equinócio
 Collaboration with Mafalda Costa at Atelier Felipa Almeida, Lisbon
2023Publication launch, No More(Cruel) Optimism Tenderbooks, London
Group show, Between There and Here, Us SZN Gallery, London
2022Group show, Fertile Soil V.O. Project Space, London
2019Group show,WAOH Youth Showcase Dyson Building, London
Duo show and book launch, Espionage with Island GravityInc.- Livros e Edições de Autor, Porto
2018Group show, Chelsea Degree Show Chelsea College of Arts, London
2017Group show, Cue to Cue Etcetera Theatre, London
Group show, Olympus UAL Photography Award Art Bermondsey Project Space, London
2016Group show, Cognitive Faculties Iklectik, LondonCeramic Workshops

2025Workshop direction, Amulet Making, Atelier Ilca Barcellos, Florianópolis

Workshop direction, Amulet Making, Badesc Foundation, Florianópolis2023Workshop direction, Amulet Making, SZN Gallery, London
Workshop direction, Amulets: Ceramic workshop for families with IoDeposito,Consiglio Comunale, San Pier d’Isonzo
2022Workshop assistance, Strange ClayMud Gang Pottery and Hayward Gallery, LondonWorkshop direction, Amulet Making, Corner Shoppppppp of Arte, AMP Gallery, London
Workshop direction, Amulet Making with Sofia Borges and Pietra GalliAtelier Miragaia, Porto
	Published Texts and Editorial Works

2025
Volcanoes and Voice Notes, short text, Schema Magazine2024
Tarot Interviews, series of artist interviews, Schema Magazine
Introductory text, Autobiografias ou o que se é enquanto se tenta ser,
 by Francisca Sousa Soares, Urutau Publishing

2023Exhibition text, Gestures of Maintenance for Rita Leite’s Estender e Voltar Campanice, Porto
Project publication, No More (Cruel) Optimism published by Foliu

2022Cultural blog, Friday Exchanges with Island Gravity2021Interview, Call Me By Your Sign by Linda ZagidulinaThe Pluralist
Text and illustrations, Where Memories Live for Island Gravity
2020Photography publication, CAHIER d’Images with Island Gravity
Exhibition review, The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree Assemblage Magazine
Article and illustrations, Out of Office Canal 180
2019Artist book, Espionagewith Island Gravity, self published
Exhibition publication, There is No Falling WAOH Youth Showcase, self published
Residencies and short courses
2025
FAAP Residency, São Paulo
2024Writing course, Write the Wordless 
Compost Library, London2020Online residency, Where Memories Live as the art duo Island GravityAfter Illusion
Awards
2025
 Eaton Fund grant recipient
2019Wandsworth Artists’ Open House Youth Showcase Bursary


//
	Educação

2018 Bacharelado em Belas Artes, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL, Londres

2015 Diploma em Escultura, CCW, UAL, London

2014 Diploma em Cenografia,Escola Artistíca de Soares dos Reis, PortoExposições2026Exposição de grupo, Casa da Sogra
Galeria Gare, São Paulo
Exposição de grupo, Órbitas
Gisela Projects na Taller Zaragoza, São Paulo
2025
Exposição de grupo, LanceAnexo MAB FAAP Centro, São Paulo
&#38;nbsp;2024
Exposição de grupo, FEASTCounty Hall Pottery, LondresExposição de grupo, Fundraiser,San Mei Gallery, Londres
Instalação de montra,&#38;nbsp;Embracing, Colaboração com Mafalda Costa, North Street Potters, Londres


Exposição de grupo, Ensaios de uma Coleção,Colaboração com Rita de Almeida Leite, Galeria Municipal, Porto


Exposição de grupo, 

Feira do Equinócio
Atelier Felipa Almeida, Lisboa


2023Lançamento de publicação, No More (Cruel) Optimism Tenderbooks, Londres

Exposição de grupo,Between There and Here, Us SZN Gallery, Londres

2022Exposição de grupo, Fertile Soil V.O. Project Space, Londres

2019Exposição de grupo, WAOH Youth Showcase Dyson Building, Londres

Exposição de dupla e lançamento de livro, Espionage, Island GravityInc.- Livros e Edições de Autor, Porto

2018Exposição de grupo, Chelsea Degree Show Chelsea College of Arts, Londres

2017Exposição de grupo, Cue to Cue Etcetera Theatre, Londres

Exposição de grupo,Olympus UAL Photography AwardArt Bermondsey Project Space, Londres

2016Exposição de grupo, Cognitive Faculties Iklectik, LondresOficinas de cerâmica

2025Direção de oficina, Amuletos em Cerâmica, Atelier Ilca Barcellos, FlorianópolisDireção de oficina, Amuletos em Cerâmica, Fundação Badesc, Florianópolis&#38;nbsp;2023Direção de oficina, Amulet Making&#38;nbsp;SZN Gallery, Londres
Direção de oficina, 
Amulets: Ceramic workshop for families 
com a organização de IoDeposito
Consiglio Comunale, San Pier d’Isonzo


2022
Assistência de oficina, Strange Clay 
com Mud Gang Pottery, 
Hayward Gallery, Londres


Direção de oficina, Amulet Making
Corner Shoppppppp of Arte 
AMP Gallery, London


Co-direção de oficina, Amuletos em Cerâmica 
com Sofia Borges
Atelier Miragaia, Porto


	Textos publicados e trabalho editorial


2025
Volcanoes and Voice Notes, texto, Schema Magazine
2024Entrevistas de Tarot, série de entrevistas de artista, Schema Magazine
Texto introdutório, Autobiografias ou o que se é enquanto se tenta ser, por Francisca Sousa Soares, Editora Urutau

2023
Publicação, No More (Cruel) Optimism
Publicada pela editora Folium


Texto de sala, Actos de Manutenção
para a exposição Estender e Voltar de Rita Leite
Campanice, Porto


2022
Blog cultural, Friday Exchanges 
Island Gravity 
2021
Entrevista, Call Me By Your Sign
por Linda Zagidulina
The Pluralist


2020
Publicação de fotografia, CAHIER d’images
Island Gravity


Crítica de exposição, The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism 
and the Cosmic Tree
Assemblage Magazine
Artigo e ilustrações, Out of Office
Canal 180


2019
Livro de artista, Espionage 
Island Gravity, publicação independente


Publicação, There is No Falling
WAOH Youth Showcase, Londres
Publicação independente


Residências e cursos adicionais
2025
Residência Artística FAAP, São Paulo

2024
Curso de escrita, Write the Wordless
Compost Library, Londres


2020
Where Memories Live
Residência online com Island Gravity 
After Illusion 


Prémios

2025&#38;nbsp;
Recipiente da bolsa Eaton Fund

2019
Recipiente da bolsa Wandsworth Artists’ Open House
 Youth Showcase, Londres


</description>
		
		<excerpt>Education 2018 BA in Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts 	 	 , UAL London  2015 Foundation Diploma in Sculpture, CCW, UAL, London  2014 Diploma in Theatre...</excerpt>

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	<item>
		<title>Intermission for Activity NMCO</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/Intermission-for-Activity-NMCO</link>

		<comments></comments>

		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 19:18:13 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">451980</guid>

		<description>
	Intermission for Activity
	&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/cdfd4845922b3b2a743d49ff1afcde78d4ab3409a2b188392ce8e14094604abf/IMG_6966.jpg" data-mid="1351154" border="0" data-scale="17"/&#62;

	It starts with a piece of paper.It could be anything you find around you: a creased-up receipt, a loyalty card, a bookmark or a book page. Something you can write on with a pen or a pencil.&#38;nbsp;This exercise won’t work on a phone. You need to feel the grab of the pencil, the pressure you apply on the piece of paper and the mark it’s leaving on it.Suddenly, words start to appear. Your handwriting might not be recognisable to you that day and there’ll probably be grammar mistakes. The sentence’s structure might not make sense either, you’ll even mix different languages without realising.&#38;nbsp;Maybe what you’re writing isn’t exactly what you had in mind and it surprises you.&#38;nbsp;The contents of what you’re writing don’t really matter though. What matters is the act of materialising an intangible part of you.
That mark you leave on the paper becomes proof of your existence and a reminder that you’re also a body that takes space in the world. You start to remember you’re not just your confused mind space and gradually, begin to disperse the fog inside of you.Every once in a while, I find a lost note in a back pocket, inside a book or in a drawer. I don’t remember when I wrote it, or where I was, but I recognise it as an extension of myself and sometimes, previous selves.
Published on the publication of the project 
No More (Cruel) Optimism, May 2023.

	
&#60;img width="1125" height="1770" width_o="1125" height_o="1770" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/401eb6ef325c34aff0dcebc1460afb03e22d575d4930cb3110db33632a78cfab/IMG_5897.jpg" data-mid="1403769" border="0" data-scale="63"/&#62;
&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;&#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp; &#38;nbsp;  &#38;nbsp; Publication page with text.

</description>
		
		<excerpt>Intermission for Activity 	  	It starts with a piece of paper.It could be anything you find around you: a creased-up receipt, a loyalty card, a bookmark or a book...</excerpt>

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	<item>
		<title>Circles NMCO</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/Circles-NMCO</link>

		<comments></comments>

		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 17:59:57 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">451977</guid>

		<description>
	Circles
	&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/28add3d4f0923346f33aa37783644eeabbf3ebef7f9e928d8719e905c46ddb31/IMG_6966.jpg" data-mid="1351147" border="0" data-scale="16"/&#62;

	“There’s only transformation.”. I came accross this quote on one of my million notes from our meetings and research during No More (Cruel) Optimism. It’s a quote by Sin Wai Kin that I heard on the podcast episode Back to Earth: Queer Currents, which Romane had recommended on the group chat. I remember I was walking back home when I listened to it and how meditative and powerful it felt, which made me reflect on how our project has also been a healing and transformative experience for me.I thought of when we first met in person on the top floor of a former office building, now a temporary space for art studios. We had booked the room for a few days as a residency space and we had decided to call that first part of the project Fertile Soil, as it seemed to go in line with how we were approaching the next few days: an open space for nurturing and growing ideas. From the very first day when we were unpacking our works in this empty rectangular room, with a view to the city’s financial district, we naturally stood in a circle as we were having a conversation. There was something both distressing and safe about being in a circle. We had no choice but to face each other and be seen by each other, which at first felt intimidating but soon became a democratic space where we could speak our minds. 
In the following days, every time we went inside the building we had to sign in at the entrance and spell our foreign names to the recepcionist, write down the arrival time and our room’s number. There was something about this routine that made me feel our entrance was an intrusion. The building’s former purpose was still visible everywhere, through the carpeted floors, the long corridors with white cubicles, the motivational quotes on the walls and the communal kitchens, that were made of microwaves and filtered water. It had been a space made for practicality and over-production, which hugely contrasted with our purpose of experimentation and exchange with an open outcome.But as we met in the room forming one of our many circles, we developed a space that was going beyond its physical limitations. Looking back at it, I see us as some type of growing seedlings in the concrete. The ability to let ourselves go and fully dedicate to the exchanges that were happening during those days, while embracing all possibilities of what the project could be, has been deeply impactful to me and my practice. Accepting and nurturing transformation through collaboration might just be the least cruel form of optimism. 

Published on the publication of the project No More (Cruel) Optimism, May 2023.
	&#60;img width="1125" height="862" width_o="1125" height_o="862" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/068925fb2df90fc8cb897c8df672b2dccc8251f8ffd5dba0149f1b449657616b/IMG_5895.jpg" data-mid="1403767" border="0" /&#62;Publication page with text.


</description>
		
		<excerpt>Circles 	  	“There’s only transformation.”. I came accross this quote on one of my million notes from our meetings and research during No More (Cruel)...</excerpt>

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	<item>
		<title>The Letter</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/The-Letter</link>

		<comments></comments>

		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2023 16:21:08 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">450171</guid>

		<description>
	The Letter
	&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/77f3aeb0e6cf2601cc086bbd4363b3013e92b1e1ac65603ccfcabae6cafa75ea/IMG_6966.jpg" data-mid="1333183" border="0" data-scale="17"/&#62;

	I remember going with my dad to computer booths in the shopping centre when I was little. He would be sending emails or using the telephone booth while I was playing computer games next to him (the only function I knew a computer had). There was a limited time and place to communicate digitally with others the rest of the time was dedicated to physical contact. Not because we had chosen to but because there was to some degree, an understanding of technology’s process: it took work to connect with people in different places, it took money too and space. The booths were large, the computers were chunky and the telephones heavy, to use them was an activity in itself.

Nowadays, technology has become a member of my body. I don’t see it as heavy, time consuming, or as an expensive activity. It’s already part of me, a cognitive function. It allows me to be constantly in touch with other people: I can be sending messages, sharing personal information or receiving by simply looking at pictures and videos on social media, whenever I want, from wherever I am. It also doesn’t necessarily matter if the other person is available at the present time when I’m sharing something online. Every time I post a picture or write a message I can see who saw it and when, there’s no need for a reply for me to know if someone’s on the other side. The implication of the other is constantly there, even if there’s no actual exchange. Does one actually need others for a conversation today or is it enough to know they’re there?

Recently, my mother brought a few objects she got from my grandparents’ place after they passed away; Objects she chose carefully, which brought her special memories and reflected my grandparents presence in some way. I was surprised by some of her choices at the time, they were objects like old diaries, or wrist watches that had stopped working long ago, chunky graduation rings... One of those items was a yellow and coverless recipe book from my great grandmother. While I was looking through it one day, I found many well kept ‘souvenirs’ in between the pages: a few cutout recipes from newspapers and flour packagings, a religious card and a letter from 1953, from my great great grandmother to her daughter in law wishing her a merry Christmas. 
The letter was a set of four pages that were now so fragile, creased and faded, but it still showed a fountain pen text with a glamorous hand writing.

Finding it felt almost like finding an archeological artefact. I carefully handed its corners, tried to translate its faded message, and later scanned it, too afraid it would just crumble into pieces.

It wasn’t necessarily a refined message, but they were words from someone I had only heard about and had never met. By reading her words and observing her handwriting I imagined her sitting down and writing it, started speculating how she acted, thought and spoke. A simple piece of paper was evoking this person’s presence, and as I observed the traces of book worms, its yellowness and oil stains, it became an object located in a time and a place. Showing its 65 years of life inside a recipe book, living through and witnessing all the activity in my grandmother’s kitchen.

What intrigued me the most was the letter’s structure: its beginning showed a symmetrical text and a perfectionist layout, while its ending was a squeezed up text that barely fitted the sheet. I could see how the writer got excited with her story, with the news she was telling. I can understand how her thought progressed throughout the letter, how she made connections, and suddenly, new ideas came to mind, making her run out of space.

Just like the computer and telephone booths took space, writing a letter did too. I don’t think about space or limits when I’m writing on a smartphone or computer today. To me it’s endless space, or at least that’s the impression it gives me. I can write as much as I want, I can change my ideas as much as I feel like, but I end up losing track of my thoughts, easily forgetting where they started and how they developed. 
I wouldn’t know what it is to depend on letters to communicate with others, for me it’s a choice to do it today, it’s an entertaining activity. Living in a different city made me want to write to my friends back home, to send them something physical from where I am that they could relate to and could keep with them. By doing that, I realised how writing a letter requires so many decisions and how much of it is about the receiver. Anything that is added to it will have an impact and a meaning on the one reading it. It’ll show how much effort I put into it, or how much I don’t, it’ll cause certain emotions... I’m in control of its entire content and I’m thinking about the other’s physical presence when opening the envelope. 
At the same time, I talk to my friends online everyday and they probably already have an idea of what I’m doing from the pictures I post. How can I make the letter’s content relevant when all the information is already out there? It requires time to think and select what I want to share and why I want them to receive that message. While I’m making these choices as I’m writing, my thought is in constant mutation and I’m not sure of where it’s headed, there’s always some unpredictability. It feels like a game. 
A few days later after posting the letter, I impatiently ask my friends if they received it. 
They have and now I impatiently wait for their response, as the game is not completed without it.
Commissioned by and published on Canal 180 as part of ‘Out of office’, August 2020


&#60;img width="3281" height="2511" width_o="3281" height_o="2511" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7021635437cf2392fb18a148ee899541edf0973555d5c2e236808aec50eb7780/carta-vo-erna-e-vo-rosa-1953-1.jpeg" data-mid="1333184" border="0" /&#62;The inside of the letter dating 22nd of December 1953
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		<excerpt>The Letter 	  	I remember going with my dad to computer booths in the shopping centre when I was little. He would be sending emails or using the telephone booth...</excerpt>

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		<title>The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree</title>
				
		<link>http://pietragalli.com/The-Botanical-Mind-Art-Mysticism-and-the-Cosmic-Tree</link>

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		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2023 15:31:16 +0000</pubDate>

		<dc:creator>Pietra Galli</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">450169</guid>

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	Exhibition review
	&#60;img width="1125" height="1131" width_o="1125" height_o="1131" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/a64e199f0338f4b040274f9b2a01f26224d1749a03f49871a991e2d1c1f2eb5c/IMG_6966.jpg" data-mid="1333173" border="0" data-scale="17"/&#62;

	‘The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree’


Before I start this review, I believe it’s important to state that this was my first online exhibition experience. Strangely, I just recently realised that I had never completely interacted with one before. I have eventually scrolled through a few, but they never captured me long enough to fully absorb them. I guess while living in London and having so many physical gallery spaces to visit, I never felt the necessity to look for online platforms. However, during a global health crisis, with galleries having to close its doors and myself having to isolate at home, I had no choice but to turn to online platforms if I had any interest in keep seeing art. 

That was how I found ‘The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree’ which immediately got my attention with its mystical title. It evoked a spiritual sense that related to my thoughts during lockdown, as many of us were starting to turn into more cautious and introspective lifestyles. The idea of a ‘botanical mind’ related to the context of seeing myself and others turning to nature to find comfort during a distressful situation. While life as we knew was being paused, it was still spring, flowers kept blooming and days kept growing. The show was originally scheduled to open on Earth Day, 22 April 2020, as a physical group exhibition. But due to the Covid-19 crisis, it had to be postponed. Quickly, Camden Arts Centre and the curators Gina Buenfeld and Martin Clark transformed the show into an online programme, offering informative content with new artist commissions, podcasts, texts, images and audio. The resulted programme is a trans-generational mix of artworks and historic documents from many continents and with works spanning more than five hundred years. It is organised in six different chapters, investigating the significance of the plant kingdom to human life on many different planes, cultures and times. 


The first thing I see on the website is a seventeen minute video introducing the individual chapters to be explored: ‘The Cosmic Tree’, ‘Sacred Geometry’, ‘Indigenous Cosmologies’, ‘Astrological Botany’, ‘As within, So Without’ and ‘Vegetal Ontology’. The video is edited with a mix of archive imagery and new commissioned artworks, on top of a mysterious soundtrack by Kirk Barley. It immediately sets the tone for the entire show with a very scientific and informative language, almost resembling an exhibition from the Natural History Museum.
After watching the video, I question myself if I would have watched the whole seventeen minutes of it if I was in a gallery space. I also wondered how they would have installed it and what kind of seats they would have. It was difficult to take the gallery space out of my mind at first, but due to the show’s particular diversity of content, I soon started to immerse myself in. Each chapter has different artists and mediums. Some are accompanied by podcasts, as Rupert Sheldrake’s ‘Why is there so much beauty in the world?’ in Sacred Geometry. The biologist and plant physiologist argues that beauty is not a subjective coincidence, but a unifying principle related to the harmonic organisation of the universe.


Other chapters are accompanied by moving image, as Adam Chodzko’s specially commissioned digital work ‘O, you happy roots, branch and mediatrix’. The video shown is an excerpt of the original artwork which is played infinitely and in real time. It was created in collaboration with computer coders Black Shuck, with who the artist developed an algorithm that ‘scans footage of undergrowth, woodland and forest, looking for the ciphers in the shadows between and under the vegetation.’. Chodzko describes his works as ‘propositions for aberrant forms of ‘social media’’, which in this case are represented by a search for the secret language found in plants, the ‘Lingua Ignotae’ - created by the 12th Century Christian mystic Hildegard von Bingen. In the artist’s proposition, I find it interesting how a medieval concept becomes the main inspiration for a future form of social media, where words are not said directly, but scanned through shapes and energies. In fact, Von Bingen has a very prominent presence in many of the contemporary works in the programme. Bingen was a German Benedictine abbess, who was also an ecologist thinker. Her cosmology is a major inspiration for the show and it is based on the combination of science, mysticism and art. 

Andrea Büttner is another artist showcased in the Cosmic Tree chapter, whose work evokes religious themes associated with Catholic monastic traditions. The works shown form a small retrospective of her practice, focusing on her study about moss, potatoes and her most recent work on overgrown planting beds on former Nazi concentrations camps. The artist’s ceiling paintings of potatoes especially got my attention for dealing with such a mundane subject, that is also a symbol of survival and proletarian work. The images are accompanied by an essay by Malin Ståhl reflecting on the artist’s practice. Ståhl describes how Büttner found interest in the theme, after discovering that local farmers from Bavaria used to make reverse glass paintings as offerings to the church, hoping they would be blessed with good harvests. When the harvests were still unsuccessful, the paintings would become an exchange currency to fight poverty. The potatoes represented in the artist’s ceiling paintings are simple forms made with confident strokes of light and shadow. The background is cyan blue, which makes the vegetables look like asteroids in space, but asteroids with sources of life, as we can see by their subtle sprouts. 

A big emphasis of ‘The Botanical Mind’ lies on the theme of Indigenous Cosmologies - taking inspiration on how these families live in harmony with the natural cycles of nature. The chapter focuses mainly on the Yawanawá people, an indigenous tribe from the Amazon rainforest, with who artist Delfina Muñoz de Toro has been collaborating in a new artwork for the show. The work is inspired by ‘kené’ - sacred geometries found in nature, which they depict onto their skin and ceramics.&#38;nbsp; Some believe that ‘these geometries once connected the universe in a continuous tissue - a primordial reality in which the planes of existence (material, immaterial, visible, invisible) were once unified and whole.’. In the current climate change debate and the emphasis on the Amazon rainforest preservation, the idea of a unified universe is undoubtedly essential. Considering every action and every life form, is a way of learning from each other and making way for a more hopeful future. In the About section of the website, the exhibition theme is compared to the lockdown context: ‘During this period of enforced stillness, our behaviour might be seen to resonate with plants: like them we are now fixed in one place, subject to new rhythms of time, contemplation, personal growth and transformation.’. As plants are in constant response to their environment, so are we now starting to pay more attention to our surroundings and our positions in them.

The other day I was talking to a friend who is an avid online show consumer. He was arguing how online shows had to be interactive and fast paced to grab the viewer’s attention. ‘The Botanical Mind’ is the complete opposite of those ideas: its design is very classic and straight forward, it is organised as a dense archive, with chapters filled with many time consuming works: essays, podcasts and videos. Although this format can sometimes be overwhelming, it, somehow, fits perfectly to the period of lockdown - when many of us started to look for new skills or to refine some of the ones we already had. It makes me think that, perhaps, flashy and catchy images are not what we are looking for right now. The context of a global crisis and being isolation made me feel more conscious of how I spend my time and more selective about the content I want to explore.

Being a multi-continental and trans-generational group show, it also emphasis on learning from our ancestors and past experiences, as well as from different cultures and civilisations. The idea of generational knowledge - something so strong in my parents and grandparents generation - was an activity that I feel went behind the curtains with the appearance of the internet. Now, after so many people have gone back to their family homes or went to isolate next to the ones they feel safer, it was also be a good opportunity to explore these relationships in more profound ways by sharing knowledge, memories and emotions. It is not necessarily a surprise when I see people around me making sourdough, fermenting food or starting to plant. All these activities are century-old human activities, which require time and patience. In times of uncertainty, nature and generational knowledge is what gives us peace. 

‘The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree’ is a celebration of the knowledge we have gathered through the centuries by simply observing and interpreting our environment. It shows us past periods, highlights the present one we are living in and also shows us a way into a more considerate and enlightening future.


The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree is on until the 31 July at botanicalmind.online


Published on Assemblage Magazine in July 2020

 
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		<excerpt>Exhibition review 	  	‘The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree’    Before I start this review, I believe it’s important to state that this...</excerpt>

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