Artwork

Odisseo – Ulysses

“…I have always had the desire to draw, and I became an artist… but at some stage in my life I could not see well enough to do it… because I am blind due to retinitis pigmentosa. Initially, I felt I could not draw and paint anymore. But I missed my pencils, the tempera, my hands dirty with all the colours… I missed them too much. Thus, I tried to find a different way to draw… and I found myself sitting in my dining room with scissors in my hand and surrounded by cardboard. I cut them and with my hands I feel the shapes, I place them together, overlap them, I smooth the edges, I feel the textures and thicknesses. I create images that I visualise in my head… It is a new, different way of drawing. I am happy and I can feel that artistic expression has no limits…”.

As an artist with disability, I was thrilled to create a bespoke work for the DANCING project, a project that showcases that artistic work created by persons with disabilities has the potential to innovate art itself. I hope that my work can actually contribute in some way to shine a light and raise awareness on the rights of people with disabilities to participate in culture.

I spoke with Delia about her project and about her goals, and her emphasis on inclusion and diversity sparked ideas. I also thought of her research project as a travel towards advancing knowledge. Thus, as subject for this artwork for DANCING I chose Ulysses, the hero of Homer’s poems. Homer, author of the Odyssey was, according to the legend, blind as I am. Ulysses is a mythical character that wants to acquire new knowledge.

The work is characterised by two identical panels created with the collage technique, which differ only in relation to their colouring. The two drawings are exactly the same, the only difference lies in the colours. One panel uses coloured cardboard. The second panel is completely white and only through a close look, or through touch, it is possible to observe the correspondence between the two. With these two works I would like people to reflect on diversity, and on the fact that sometimes things apparently different are in fact the same. This technique also aims to allow everyone to experience arts in different ways as well as to experience art in the same way people with visual impairments or people who are blind do. I believe that comparing the two panels encourages reflection on how we perceive the world through different senses.

The theme of the panel depicts Ulysses tied by his companions to the main mast of his ship in order to hear the song of the sirens without being deceived by them, and thus continue on the long journey back to Ithaca. This part of the poem, more than others, demonstrates Ulysses inexhaustible thirst for knowledge.

Tiziano Pantano, Artist

“I was delighted that Tiziano accepted to create a bespoke work for my ERC DANCING project. The themes of Ulysses and the search for new knowledge bring out the essence of an ERC project, which is about advancing the state-of-the-art and frontier research. I also feel that this Ulysses speaks of my personal research journey from my PhD research on culture in EU law to my work on the rights of persons with disabilities. Further, the collage techniques and the two identical yet different panels speak to the ethos and goals of the DANCING project. I look forward for people to experiment with this artwork through different senses at the final DANCING conference”.

Delia Ferri, Principal Investigator of DANCING