Tel Aviv - “Not a Project but a Promise” is the title of Margherita Moscardini's exhibition curated by Nicola Trezzi, opening today at the CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Israel, the Italian Cultural Institute of Tel Aviv, and Outset Contemporary Art Fund.

The Italian artist focuses on liminal places and sites, both natural and cultural, as well as legal. Using the language of abstraction through sculpture, drawing, written text, and more, Moscardini's works, while rooted in society and geography, remain open and speculative. “Not a Project but a Promise,” on view until August 31, represents the latest chapter in a long-term research project on sites that exemplify the concept of “res communes omnium,” meaning sites that exist for the benefit and protection of all, though not owned by anyone. The artist examines how the unique status of these sites is maintained and utilized during periods of socio-political change. Previous chapters addressed the fortifications built along the Atlantic Wall by the Nazis during World War II, from the Pyrenees to Norway, as well as public spaces used during the protests in Gezi Park, Istanbul, and the courtyards and temporary homes built by Syrian refugees in Za’atari, Jordan.

This body of work, created specifically for the CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo, includes a series of fabric silhouettes based on maps of twelve sacred places in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron, governed by what is known as the Status Quo. This term refers to a set of principles rooted in Ottoman laws in Palestine and later incorporated into international law to regulate and protect places of worship considered sacred by different religions and where various communities practice their faith. Specifically, the UN resolution that envisioned a form of functional rather than territorial internationalization of the holy places alone instead of the entire city of Jerusalem, proposed a special supranational form of governance for these sites. This perspective is central to “Not a Project but a Promise,” where Moscardini explores whether the system of sharing time and space that governs these sites can suggest other ways of living beyond territorial belonging, proposing a new model of relationship between communities. (9colonne)