Antivegitativa (the Italian name for anti-fouling paint, often applied to old ships to eliminate every form of life) is the work of Davide D’Elia, and uses “tiffany blue” anti-fouling paint to half-immerse the ex-elettrofonica gallery and nineteen canvases, a buoy and a chair inside it, creating a surreal space. The canvases were all found in flea markets, antique shops and cellars around Rome, show landscapes, portraits and seascapes from the past, and are immersed in the greenish-blue paint. The chair represents the conceptual site where time stops, and the buoy is the spatial limit not to be passed. According to the artist, Antivegitativa is an experiment in halting nature’s physicality, as well as the passing of time.
