Alessandro Simonini Atalanta Fugiens, 2020

The work is unique in the history of alchemy: it is the only known text in which the graphic, poetic and musical arts are closely bound to the hermetic treatise proper, making it a prototype of multimedia hypertext.

The project aims to render the heritage of the pictographic plates in a contemporary way, respecting traditional engraving and printing techniques but integrating CNC technology (computer numerically controlled laser cutting) to create plates in Plexiglas. This choice builds a bridge between analogue and digital systems, underlining an exploration of the potential of polymer materials and of light effects: the engraved images are revealed only under UV or black light, thanks to chemical reactions and to the hieroglyphic character of the images, which retain an aura of mystery and symbolism.

The work draws on the ideas of Maier, who saw myths as allegories and hieroglyphs handed down by esoteric knowledge, and sets out to make people see the invisible through the use of optical instruments, special lights and chemical practices, creating an experience that involves the viewer in the process of decipherment. The images are revealed through a play of veiling and unveiling, encouraging a leap in time between ancient and contemporary and stimulating imagination and active participation.

The project involved the atelier as a place of research in the field of original fine art printing, which, embracing the artist's intent, also brought in FabLab Bergamo as external collaborator and technical partner. Together they produced the plates digitally, combining traditional tools and modern technologies.

As tradition dictates, each of these plates was then printed on a hand press with UV-reactive inks. The limited edition, numbered and signed by the artist, also has a title in English, translated from the Latin, reinforcing the symbolic and alchemical character of the entire collection.

The first stage of the whole project, which is planned to develop further, was presented for the first time during the Omuamua Legacy group exhibition.

A project developed during the months of lockdown, centred on the polarity between sidereal darkness and tropical brightness, between extreme isolation and excessive sharing. Presented during the Walk-in studio event.

Visitors are welcomed at the foot of the two palm trees in the courtyard at via Verona 11, Milan, and guided in groups of 5 at a time into a dark space of 270 m2 to discover the works of 12 artists:

Gianluca Arienti, Bepart, Mirko Canesi, Emanuele Caprioli, Lorenzo D'alba, Valentina Maggi Summo, Bianca Millan, Luca Pozzi, Emanuele Resce, Camilla Rocchi, Matilde Sambo, Alessandro Simonini.

Omuamua takes its name from the first interstellar asteroid, detected by the Pan-STARRS telescope at the Haleakala astronomical observatory in Hawaii on 19 October 2017, whose name in ancient Hawaiian means "messenger that arrives first from afar". Hence the idea of a setting that is exotic, bright and crystalline and at the same time sidereal, violent and dark.