Filippo Minelli was born in Brescia, Italy in 1983. He lives and works in Barcelona and in Asunción, Paraguay. His performance and photography work is based on analysing the landscape, politics, and communication systems. With his interest in public spaces, Minelli initially undertook instinctive, unauthorised actions, which in the early 2000s made him a pioneer in Italy of what would later be called ‘street art’; following this phase, he continued his personal path based on the aesthetics of protest. Photography has always had a key role in his work, initially as a way to document the actions performed during his frequent trips to the Middle East, South America, West Africa or the former Soviet republics, then in documenting and conceptualising the landscape of northern Italy. His work has been exhibited at such venues as the Somerset House in London; the Münchner-Stadtmuseum in Munich; the Total Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea; the Triennale di Milano; and the ArtScience Museum in Singapore.
Across the Border (2010 – ongoing)
Mixed media, installation
Across the Border is a participatory project that investigates the themes of migration and identity in the age of big data. For this work, Minelli has had a series of flags made by performers from all the geographical areas with which Palermo is connected due to migration or the exchange of communications through Internet infrastructures. The flags thus become a tool connecting stories, people, and different places instead of defining nations and their populations. Exhibited on the top floor of Palazzo Ajutamicristo, the installation brings together all the flags collected through this casual network of performers.