A Fragmented World is a work inspired by the “fracture theory” developed by the theoretical physicist Bruno Giorgini, who, between the late 1980s and early 2000s, conducted a number of laboratory experiments in order to analyze and systematize the events leading to a crisis, interpreted as both a geophysical and sociopolitical phenomenon. The fracture, understood as a dynamic of rupture, evades classic mathematical models, causing unpredictable and often chaotic results.
It therefore creates a complex science, or rather a method that contributes to analyzing and studying the characteristics of the world we live in, a multifaceted world that takes the shape of a specific geological site in A Fragmented World: the volcano Etna. Located in the province of Catania, in Sicily, Etna is the most active volcano in Europe and its continuous changes have a direct impact on the landscape. The area around the volcano is always changing due to the process of destruction and construction brought about by the eruptions. The fractures caused by the eruptions make it easy to see this process of constant transformation, making it possible to document it. A Fragmented World analyzes the layered geography of the Etna area and looks at the morphology of a constantly changing landscape. Two series of maps, obtained from the laboratories of the Istituto Nazionale di Geografia e Vulcanologia in Catania, describe the structure of the volcano at two relatively close periods in time, emphasizing the rapid change that took place between 2005 and 2014. An amateur who trains daily along the fractures in the Valle del Bove – the basin where the lava tends to collect – illustrates humankind’s relationship with the constantly changing landscape and our ability to adapt.
Through a synthesis of scientific and artistic methods, exploration an expression, A Fragmented World investigates the permanent process of destruction/ construction unleashed by nature and the resulting human perception of this experience.