MAURIZIO NANNUCCI has given us all a new mantra to live by. N O M O R E E X C U S E S is a light and sound installation at the Fabbrica Europa at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence that opened May third and will be up only until the 11th of the month. The exhibition is part of FabbricaEuropa’s 20th anniversary. If you’re in the area at the time, you should go. 

Here’s a bit about the foundation:

Fabbrica Europa was born in 1994 from an idea of Maurizia Settembri and Andres Morte Terés with the aim to create a home in Florence for the culture of all Europe. In eighteen years of activity Fabbrica Europa has become a recognised space for new artistic languages and the contemporary arts. Florence is a city historically designated to house art but burdened with the weight of tradition. It is therefore perhaps one of the most difficult places to deliver a project that is not simply a festival but a concept, a hub of international, multicultural, creation and training. By transforming the Stazione Leopolda into a workshop, stage and laboratory of research and experimentation, Fabbrica Europa has given the ex-railway station back to the city, animating a location of industrial archaeology with a new cultural function.

For more info click ——-> here

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The installation is stupenda. Just after entering the venue and passing through a moment of almost pure darkness, I turned the corner and was confronted by this:

It ain’t everyday that one gets to walk through such a fantastically transformed space. After turning the dark corner a breath of disbelief is taken then exhaled with amazement when seeing the long room for the first time. A childlike wonder is assumed almost immediately, and you could sense that being shared too.  If I were to speak personally about my own initial impression, the only words that escaped my lips for the first five minutes I think were holy f*ck. It felt like my infantile ideas of what space might be like plus the inside of my brain responsible for self doubt were manifested together in this room, in a slightly mocking, yet delightful way, even gentile. The looming and almost melancholic cool blue lights spelling out, no more excuses across the 100 meter floor that beamed down on me remain to be quite affective even three days later. And I don’t think the necessity I acquired to repeat this mantra over and over in my head will diminish in the future for that mater, by any means. I was challenged by this piece in the simplest of ways, as if Nannucci wanted to offer us all a big and humble favor, reminding us of what’s fundamentally important. I’m grateful, really. The lights could have also spelled, hey dummy, you might want to think about getting your shit together!; a personal message that I felt like I was actually telling yourself, no one else. The universality of this experience could have only left visitors with an echo of their own lingering, suppressed thoughts or doubts, yet with a new feeling of drive and tranquillità; just the right ingredients to prevent feeling too overwhelmed when reentering the real world.  That’s how I felt anyway, and like I said, i’m grateful.

As I was standing under a singular cascading blue light, looking up, I felt like I had to answer to my own doubts, assume responsibility for something. And I am still thinking about it. Do objects have the ability to ignite this kind of everlasting emotional experience? Can they similarly act as physical triggers of big existential questions when relatively experienced, touched, held… worn? It ain’t easy, but perhaps they can.

If you can think of some examples, please comment. I’ll do the same.

Maurizio is seen in the center of this crappy photo on the right of the group. I am lucky to call him a dear friend and neighbor. Thank you for consistently bringing the only dose of contemporary culture to Firenze. 

To learn more about the work, please click —-> here for a statement as well as the artist’s bio