These suitcases by Giorgia Volpe in various locations along the PASSAGES INSOLITES circuit seem to have been momentarily set down – then forgotten, lost, or voluntarily discarded by their owners. Some seem to be placed at random next to a park bench, on a street corner, or in a phone booth, while others tell the story of travel rudely interrupted, abandoned next to the train station or at the ferry terminal.
But the suspect luggage does not contain personal belongings: the suitcases are solid blocks of cast concrete. The formal contradiction between the inert heavy material and the lightness and portability of the object it depicts creates a richly evocative disconnect. Permanently fixed to the floor, these unusable suitcases call to mind recent constraints placed on nomadic existences and human migration, recurring themes in Volpe’s art.
giorgiavolpe.net
