and the ground begins to breathe

There is a moment in the cycle of the seasons when everything still seems still. The cold has not completely left the earth, the air is saturated with anticipation, and the ground, seemingly inert, begins to quiver in depth. It is a restrained breath, a silent, subterranean movement that marks the beginning of a transformation. “and the ground begins to breathe” stems from this subtle and decisive passage: the imperceptible instant when something begins to change beneath the visible surface, when the ground, still compact and silent, opens up, moves and comes alive. After “Sowing the seed of care,” an exhibition presented in 2024 that reflected on the gesture of caring as a shared and radical practice, attempting to metaphorically plant the seed of a new plant species, this new chapter turns its gaze to the phase of germination: an initial moment, fragile and powerful at the same time, in which the seed, already planted, begins its activation process. We are in the time before flowering, at the moment in which plant life begins to organise itself, to tend outwards and then explode luxuriantly and powerfully into the sunlight. and the ground begins to breathe suggests a profound, almost invisible metamorphosis: that of the soil waking up and becoming the cradle of new possibilities. The exhibition explores the cycle of plant life: from the metamorphosis of organic waste to the subsoil, from seeds to roots, from buds to flowers, each phase is considered as a fragment of a non-linear time, made up of expectations, returns and stratifications. In a present dominated by speed and overexposure, the exhibition invites an exercise in slowed-down attention, to perceive the micro-movements of matter, the minimal signals that precede every visible change. Germination, in this sense, becomes a symbol of another, ecological time, in which every transformation requires care, patience and listening. The works of Alessandro Biggio, Irene Dionisio, Nona Inescu, Kyriaki Goni, Lucia Pizzani, Natália Trejbalová and Rachel Youn stage an expanding landscape, alive and sensitive, suspended between imagination and scientific observation, between natural and artificial. The exhibition is divided between two distinct spaces: Galleria Fuoricampo and La Limonaia di Villa Griccioli in Montechiaro, composing a choral itinerary that interweaves artistic practices, botanical knowledge, ecological narratives and imaginative tensions. Each venue hosts a portion of the tale, offering both different perspectives on an ecosystem in transformation and an invitation to listen to the ancestral and continuous breathing of Gaia.

“and the ground begins to breathe” is the second exhibition project presented in continuity with “Sowing the Seed of Care.” If the first exhibition chapter focused on an impossible action, the planting of the seed of care, in the hope of fostering inter-species connections beyond the dichotomy of human exploitation/nature, this second episode suggests a vital transformation. In particular, it highlights the instant in which the soil, often perceived as inert, comes to life and becomes the nucleus of a new existence. This imaginative shift captures the essence of the exhibition: the act of germination, birth and blossoming symbolises a continuous life cycle, inviting the viewer to immerse themselves in a living, lush and pulsating landscape.