Site-specific audio-video installation
by Giuseppe Lo Schiavo
Curated by Serena Tabacchi
by Giuseppe Lo Schiavo
Curated by Serena Tabacchi
Palazzo Vecchio – Sala d’Arme, Florence, Italy
Rotta is a multimedia installation exploring themes of orientation, loss, and responsibility in a time shaped by uncertainty and global crises. As traditional notions of progress and stability become increasingly fragile, the work reflects on what it means to navigate the present without shared reference points or clear direction.
I collaborated closely with the artist as an assistant and was responsible for the graphic design of the exhibition, including visual materials and layout elements that supported the narrative and spatial experience.
The project draws inspiration from one of the Mediterranean’s most silent tragedies: migrant boats attempting to reach Italy that disappear at sea, sometimes later discovered drifting empty, with autopilot still engaged. The narrative is informed by testimonies from families searching for missing relatives, as well as accounts connected to search-and-rescue operations through the artist’s brother, a motorboat operator in the Italian Coast Guard.
At the core of the installation is a 19-minute film recorded live at sea using seven cameras and thirty-two microphones. A marching band performs aboard small boats traveling eight nautical miles from the coast—a symbolic distance where the central action unfolds.
graphic design
Main banner and exhibition totem
Palazzo Vecchio
Sala d’Arme, Florence, Italy
Exhibition text panel
exhibition poster
