ConnectingCode

Variabile K has been awarded first position out of 110 proposals as the leading partner for the “Connecting Code” project promoted by the Creative Living Lab V competitive bid (DGCC/Ministry of Culture). 

The title is motivated by establishing connections between neighborhoods and their inhabitants through generating a series of workshops by Bianco-Valente, an artistic partnership working locally and nationally through participatory art.
Through this project, Variabile K is promoting the regeneration of three spaces the historical center of Ercolano, next to the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum.

The artists Bianco Valente, together with various partners, will work with the aim of engaging people, drawing insight from their fascinating tales and narratives as well as from the time old history of this place. In this way, currently neglected spaces will be transformed into inclusive and welcoming areas.
The artworks will be created and positioned in carefully selected and strategic venues in the town: the new square in via Mare overlooking the archaeological park with a view over the Gulf of Naples, the market area of ‘A Ruana - external to the MAV Museum - as well as in the historic center of Pugliano, home to the
famous Resina vintage market.

The concept of “Connecting Code” aims to add value to the local community’s way of life and wellbeing as well as encouraging tourist interest in less frequented areas of the city.

Creation of the artwork
One of the three installations of the Connecting Code project, "Seconda Mano", is positioned on the railings of the new square in Via Mare.
Six slabs of Raffaello marble are engraved with designs inspired by photographs taken during community meetings with Bianco-Valente, where the artists invited participants in pairs to tie a knot using only one hand.

The inspiration for this work came from a visit to the UCO Madonna dell'Arco in Ercolano. One of the images of the Madonna was surrounded by knots, an element that often appears in the symbolism of the town. The knot is also a symbol of the maritime tradition of the area: many people from Ercolano work in the sector and are away from home for long periods of time, always maintaining a strong link with their hometown at the foot of Vesuvius.

On the balcony overlooking the excavations and the Bay of Naples from Piazza Carlo di Borbone you can admire the work of art that, based on the knot, symbolically links the present and the past of the town.