Tirana Art Lab and the Italian Institute of Culture in Tirana have made possible the exhibition “Doublefeature # 9”, by artists Gabriele Rendina Cattani and Ilir Lluka. The exhibition, in which the used mediums are: installation, video, electronic communication and photography, was curated by Adela Demetja and was inaugurated at TAL space this April 21st 2018 to remain open until June 2nd.
“Doublefeature # 9” is the exhibition of two artists coming from two different nations, represented with different mediums. Their main concern is urbanism and the problems deriving.
Italian artist Gabriele Rendina Cattani (born and working in Rome, Italy) presents different works, in between of them a single installation: 3 additional facilities of a construction site are placed irregularly in the main area of TAL and in the interior there are other devices that transcribe sounds recorded by the artist in urban areas at different times of day-night, sounds of atmospheric phenomena, vehicle noise, and human voices.
Depending on the internal position of the sound equipment, the sounds come differently. The confinement of space on one hand, and the hearing angle of the sound on the other, seem to serve the artist as a way to convey to the visitor his analytical and critical viewpoint of the reality.
On the other hand, in comparison with “what happened yesterday”, the “what happens today” creates sensitivity and curiosity to the artist.
The other available corner of the Italian artist presents a whole set of images (purposely technically not qualitative) that represent interior residential environments which today can be in the service of anyone depending on the payment. Yesterday? Yesterday, they were dressed in a mystery, being part of the so-called “Bllok”.
Albanian artist Ilir Lluka (was born and working in Tirana) is presented in the exhibition through two videos, which reflect an urban view in a blurry way, whose strong side is the sound, but which transmits anxiety and distress. It’s not clear the start and the end partition in these videos, but it’s quite clear that these videos are in themselves shrieks.
“Both artists can be considered as composers of contemporary electronic music”, as mentioned in the curatorial text; because underlying the works of the two artists, conceptually and emotionally burdens, is sound.
In the foreground the creations seem bare by emotions, because they are characterized by abstraction and experiment, but it is so present.
Gabriele Rendina Cattani is an artist who works mainly with sound columns: comprehensive computer compositions focused on boundaries and constraints of a digital environment, influencing the memory and understanding of what surrounds us. His compositions and audio-visual installations are featured in various cultural institutions and spaces, mainly in Italy and France.
Ilir Lluka is an audio-visual artist and composer of electronic music, active in the fields of “drone” and experimental music. Lluka has independently studied sound design and synthesis techniques at an academic and practical level. Ilir Lluka is the author of several software synthesizers that are now being used by the public. He is also a participant in a number of national and international exhibitions. Ilir Lluka is the winner of the “Onufri XXII” award, 2016.
