Theatre of the Sun, 2018

Fallen FruitTheatre of the Sun (2018), mixed media installation

Section: Garden of Flows

Fruit, like culture, moves around the world with territorial expansion, transnational trade, and human migration. Seeds are carried by the winds, in the linings of clothing, or in cargo, inadvertently. Fruit is not only natural, it is also a cultural object, even ‘political’. This is especially evident in the port city of Palermo.
Theatre of the Sun, on view at Palazzo Butera, is composed of an immersive art installation of wallpaper and maps of fruit trees growing in the city, providing abundant edible fruits to all. The Public Fruit Map of Palermo indicates the location of hundreds of fruit trees in public and private spaces that are often overlooked and ignored. The maps are available for free use, as the fruit trees become a shared resource. The Palermo Public Fruit Map is part of the Endless Orchard, and expanding global resource, mapping edible fruits in public spaces in cities around the world. The artwork articulates a contemporary point of view about transient and ancient public spaces, which continue to preserve local history and persist in recreating themselves anew.