Article 11, 2018

Tania BrugueraArticle 11 (2018), mixed media installation
In collaboration with: Francesco Cinquerrui, Francesco D’Amore, Sveva D’Antonio, Giuseppe Firrincielli, Corrado Gugliotta, Maddalena Migliore, Gianfranco Di Pietro, Guglielmo Manenti, Pino Pardo, Maria Domenica Rapicavoli, Alessandra Saviotti, Velentina Terranova (Movimento No Muos)

Section: Out of Control Room

Near the small town of Niscemi in southeastern Sicily, the United States Navy has implemented a new global communication system called MUOS (Mobile User Objective System). It operates as a global cellular service provider to support war from a distance, coordinating and controlling US drones and unmanned aircraft. The base station in Sicily is one of four; the others are in Hawaii, Australia and Virginia. The location for the three gigantic parabolic antennas in Niscemi was chosen very strategically: in the middle of the last cork forest in Sicily, hidden amongst hills. Since 2009 the inhabitants of the area have been fighting against the MUOS because of the antennas’ harmful effects on human health and the environment.
Documents selected by Tania Bruguera from the activists’ archives narrate this story of an ongoing battle. Article 11 also expands beyond the realm of art. In keeping with her idea and methodology of Arte Útil she has developed a series of activities in close collaboration with the activists, trying to give them stronger visibility and voice both on a national and international level.
The project, on view at Palazzo Ajutamicristo, includes audio, video, and photographic documentation, organised in the form of an exhibition with the aim of giving the movement new visibility worldwide.