“I used to hear the noise of pots as I fell asleep. Although I was very young, that sound has stayed inside me. We never spoke about politics at home. My parents never protested. They hadn’t studied and did not have the tools to understand what was happening.”
This is how Felipe Aquila introduced himself, yesterday, at the Chilean Embassy for the BNL Media Art Festival “Meeting with the Artist” together with the Chilean Ambassador, Fernando Ayala, Cultural Attaché Antonio Arèvalo and Alfonso Molina, Scientific Director, Fondazione Mondo Digitale, who is of Chilean origins and a former political refugee.
Here are some of the tweets on the live event that was held in one of the eight locations of the festival, all interconnected by a keyword: VISION.
La lezione di #FelipeAguila agli studenti: quandoc’è passione per qualcosa non puoi lasciar perdere @BNLMAF #RomaMaf pic.twitter.com/JKvOTsiuYJ
— Rosy D’Elia (@Rosy_FMDigitale) 14 aprile 2016
#FelipeAguila agli studenti: sono venuto in Europa a scoprire la pittura. Poi sono diventato videoartista. @antarv pic.twitter.com/utWYKyYL4T
— Rosy D’Elia (@Rosy_FMDigitale) 14 aprile 2016
L’arte è visione @BNLMAF a #ambasciatacileitalia #felipeaguila @AlfonsoHMolina @fmdigitale pic.twitter.com/CQ1ZQcmOhp
— Mirta Michilli (@MirtaMichilli) 14 aprile 2016
Felipe Aguila / Protest Tool
Biography. Felipe Aguila was born in Santiago, Chile in 1977. He currently lives and works in Turin. He graduated from the Faculty of Viusal Arts at the Universidad de Chile in 1998. In 1999, he won a scholarship from FONDART, Fondo Nacional de Las Artes. In 2000, he won a scholarship that allowed him to enrol at the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti in Turin, where he studied painting until 2004. At the same time, he also began working on video installations. In 2010, he presented a video installation for “Visual Bands” at the Lu.C.C.A – Lucca Centre of Contemporary Art; in 2011, he participated in “Tempi precari” in Turin. In 2012, he participated in the Hydromemories exhibition held at the Regional Natural Science Museum in Turin and participated in the “Art Stays” Residence Programme in Ptuj, Slovenia curated by Antonio Arévalo. In 2014, Felipe participated in the “Origins of Democracy” Exhibition at the Verbania Fondotoce Casa della Resistenza and “Vitrine” at the GAM – Galleria di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Turin, both curated by Anna Musini. In 2015, he participated in “Onomatoepopeyas” at the Galleria Concreta in Santiago del Chile.
Works. Felipe Aguila’s work developed for Proejct “Vitrine” – Alle Radici della Democrazia was inspired by personal memories of his childhood in Chile. The artist grew up in a relaxed environment in Santiago, far from all the political turmoil. Nonetheless, democracy is a value that is always addressed in a reality molded by the dictatorship’s rules and censoring, which limited individual freedom. Felipe’s memory flies back to the curfew and the nocturnal silence that was only broken by the sound of the cacerolazos, the pots and pans that were used to peacefully protest and call for more dialogue.
