Carola Bonfili

Second Order Reality, an installation by Carola Bonfili, curated by Daniela Cotimbo and Ilaria Gianni, set up in the natural spaces of the Spacco della Regina in Ansedonia. The project, promoted and produced by the smART Foundation, was realized with the support of the Italian Council (XI edition, 2022) and is destined for the collection of the MAXXI – National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome. In the cavities of the Spacco della Regina – a natural opening in the rock that winds its way from the sea to the heart of the high ground above – a double sculptural and audiovisual installation by the artist Carola Bonfili will find its natural setting. She has always been dedicated to the multi-layered narration of reality through the wide range of technological languages made available by the contemporary era.

The video work The Stone Monkey shows us, as in a video game, the physical and allegorical journey of the little monkey M’ling and his sidekick Tanky Pear towards healing and self-acceptance, through a series of changing and dynamic realities and horizons. The sound element, created by Francesco D’Abbraccio, is an essential part of the project that envelops the ambien-tal work. The concrete sculptures of the two protagonists, M’ling and Tanky Pear, bring the experience of the video back to physicality, showing themselves as action figures typical of the gaming universe. With them comes real contact with the world narrated in the video installation.