Following a successful selection for the Myymälä2 open call for exhibition projects, Italian curator Elena Righini orchestrates the collaboration of five international artists around the thematic exploration of rejection and its dual nature as both a physical and psychological phenomenon.
The concept of the Immateriality of Rejection group exhibition delves into the nuanced interpretations of the term ri-fiù-to in Italian, embodying both the noun form of the verb rifiutare (to reject) and the definition of garbage. When an object is discarded into the waste, it undergoes a transformation into rifiuto (waste), symbolising its rejection by whoever created or produced it. It can be something that is no longer in use, something that we refuse to see, something that evokes disgust or unpleasant memories.
From the moment we flush the toilet, we reject something that was a part of us and our life, choosing not to know or care what is going to happen to it next. The physical rejection in our daily lives absolves us of responsibility, yet the rejected entities persist, relegated to unseen corners of our environment and psyche. However, nothing truly disappears; rather, it is displaced to designated areas such as landfills, emblematic of a societal aversion to confronting the consequences of rejection. We desire for our cities, homes and lives to be ‘clean’.
As we dispose of our faeces, we distance ourselves from emotions and waste, perpetuating a social and economic system rooted in consumerism. This system encompasses not only material productivity but also influences visual, auditory, and emotional domains. Rejection fuels a cycle akin to bulimia, wherein conscious and deliberate obsolescence fosters a culture where items are designed to have short lifespans, despite their potential for enduring materiality.
Clarissa Falco’s artistic inquiry into rejection elucidates its ties to capitalist ideologies and the corporeal realm, particularly in the ostracism of bodily elements deemed undesirable. Through the integration of machinic components, Falco crafts sterile compositions, paralleling the barrenness of non-recyclable waste severed from its natural cycle. This sterile machinery symbolises an unproductive entity within societal and economic frameworks, perpetuating a cycle of rejection and obsolescence.
Emanuele Resce’s artistic practice critiques the cult of productivity, challenging the relentless pursuit of creation for creation’s sake. ‘I do not want to add things to what already exists,’ says Resce: the work of art is in fact the creation of a product, which requires the use of often valuable resources. Resce refuses to be involved in the collective psychosis of continuous production and uses already existing materials, elevating what has been rejected towards a new acceptance, a new dignity.
Both Falco and Resce contribute to a broader discourse on industrial archaeology, salvaging discarded remnants to fuel creative expression. Through the discerning curation of ‘noble waste,’ artists unearth materials imbued with aesthetic and narrative potential, underscoring the transformative power of discarded artefacts.
Francesco Re Li Calzi explores objects deemed ‘no longer useful,’ aiming to find them a new purpose in their environment. His work restores dignity to these discarded items by transforming them, ensuring they reclaim their place within the system they are part of. Re Li Calzi’s practice focuses on the intersection of art and travel: he uncovers discarded materials during his journeys, transforming them into installations that reflect his passage through various locations. In 2021, he travelled through the Balkan territories by bicycle, leaving behind site-specific installations crafted from recycled materials found along the way. This intersection of art and travel is evident in the actions Re Li Calzi takes and the lasting impact he leaves. His work spans across video, performance, urban art, and installation, and their uniting feature is the topic of transforming discarded objects and materials.
Much like Re Li Calzi, Sara Sundkvist embarks on a quest to explore the ignored, overlooked and discarded. The objects she gathers are deeply rooted in their original locations but are reimagined and repurposed to fit into the white cube environment of artistic spaces. However, Sundkvist’s art is not about mere occupation of space; it is about its active transformation. Her pieces shape the space around them, constructing corridors and rooms that evoke a sense of relational aesthetics. When viewers encounter Sundkvist’s works, they are not passive spectators but active participants, navigating around them, reaching out to interact, and immersing themselves in the experience. Like actors on a stage, they become part of the setting. As a result, Sundkvist’s sculptures interact with each other, casting intriguing shadows, playing with light, and creating dynamic pathways that invite exploration.
Kristýna Ilek examines rejection through a relational lens, probing how rejection weaves through interpersonal relationships and how it symbolically manifests itself in the waste we generate. How do we, as individuals, reject each other? How do we, as society, relate to the waste we produce? How many of us know how waste is treated? How do we treat each other when we reject ourselves in the first place? Can we grasp the scale of landfills of both waste and emotions? As a dramaturg, she delves into audience engagement, collaborating with communities and focusing on site-specificity. Through her performance, she encourages audiences to immerse themselves in local landscapes and histories while confronting their own experiences of it. Waste and discarded materials are intrinsic to the spaces and relationships we inhabit, yet they often go unnoticed. In this group exhibition, Ilek invites viewers to reflect on rejection as an act among humans. Further, she offers a performance tour with an interactive exploration of the artworks on display. This site-specific experience enables visitors to engage directly with the artworks while reconsidering their own relationship with rejection and waste.
About the artists
Emanuele Resce was born in Italy in 1987. After graduating from Benevento High School of Art in 2006, he moved to Germany, first to Munich then to Saarbruken, later settling in Milan where he currently lives and works. His artistic practice resumed in 2013 after a few years of
Marxist political activity, and takes place for the most part in working studios shared with other young artists who come from different backgrounds and experiences.
Kristýna Ilek is a multidisciplinary artist and dramaturg from Prague, currently based in Belfast. She is a member of European Dare to Care Art Collective. In her artistic practice, she focuses on community projects and art in public space. She is also currently completing a PhD in Dramaturgy and Healthy Creative Practices.
Clarissa Falco is an italian artist. Her works start from the idea of the body conceived as a machine, beyond the distinction between subject and object, which is deprived of its appearance to become an engine and gear, part of a machine. In the performative activity, the machine-body binarism is expressed through an automatic gesture of the performers, as if trapped in a time loop that is always the same.
Sara Sundkvist is a Finnish artist. By using old and recycled materials, she strives to get closer to the earth and closer to a slower way of living. Creating with techniques that people have been using for hundreds of years, she transfers her heritage to a new generation. Sundkvist’s work is a mixture of play and seriousness, simple shapes and hours of labour.
Francesco Re Li Calzi is a multidisciplinary artist born in 1997 in Italy. His work is focused on the importance of experience more than representation. In the last years he is developing a form of art untied from pre-established objects and places through bike trips in which his body and the surrounding environment become the only and infinite available ingredients.
