The work is explicitly a reference to and tribute to the greatness of Lucio Dalla, who wrote the lyrics to ‘Com’è profondo il mare’ right here in our Apulian sea (the Tremiti Islands) – a drama which, almost half a century on, remains as vivid and relevant as ever: “… meanwhile, the fish, from whom we are all descended, watched curiously as the collective drama of this world unfolded – a world that must undoubtedly have seemed cruel to them”.
If we choose to interpret these words as a reflection on the disaster that anthropocentrism has wrought at every level—human, social, cultural, spiritual and environmental—then the ecological crisis is a clear manifestation of this drift.
“…and they began to think, in their vast sea, how deep the sea is”
Genco’s installation prompts reflection on the beauty of nature and the delicate balance that governs all things, on the most fragile and hidden creatures, such as fish, but also on the violated natural world, which has its own means of defence.
“… even if the thinker is as silent as a fish,
and like a fish is hard to catch, because the sea protects it”
