proposed a rectangular piece of black marble,
like a large piazza. A simple graphic sign, al-
most a deletion drawn in felt pen and placed
horizontally on the ground, it contrasts to the
breathtaking and glittering landscape that has
been the result of the frenetic speculation
that in the past few years has completely tran-
sformed the skyline of Milan.
The rectangular black marble is a sculptural
element, but it is also architectural; it has a
specific function. It is proposed as an extra-
territorial space, to express the condition of
indeterminacy of refugees, who the artist re-
cognizes are a paradigm of our time.
In this sense the sculpture, once it is perceived
in its own special jurisdiction, can be called a
monument, but also a space ‘outside of the
law’ – a normative void on a large block of
marble, made more dangerous and blunt by
the power displayed when a cobblestone was
launched during an event. Moscardini brings
up traditions long forgotten in Europe today:
for the inviolable right to asylum going back
to ancient Greece, the protection of all the
faithful in the space outside the church, in
the churchyard.
This is not a provocation, but a simple shift:
“I isolate the churchyard (and its jurisdiction),
and move it to the park,” said the artist in her
proposal to the Committee. The artist gave a
concrete foundation for the development of
Asylia: she researched a collaboration with
UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissio-
ner for Refugees, and aimed to offer the plat-
form to a network of local groups involved in
support of human rights, to verify its effective
functionality.
The project was never made, but it was an oc-
casion to think about citizenship status, about
the potential of hospitality in the urban fabric,
122
Istanbul City Hills
On the Natural History of Dispersion and States of Aggregation,
2013-2015, still da video HD trasferito su Blu-ray Disc, sonoro, 5’30’’ /
still from video HD transfered on Blu-ray Disc, sound
Courtesy of the artist e / and MAXXI, Rome
Istanbul City Hills_On the Natural History of Disper-
sion and States of Aggregation
2014, inchiostri blu su carta gr 200, cm 42 x 29,6 cm /
blue inks on paper gr 200, 16 ½” x 11 ¾”
Courtesy of the artist. Collezione privata / Private Collection L1
