by Lara Pan

The Possible Ties between Illness and Success


Carlo Zanni is a conceptual artist who works with new technologies as his medium. “The Possible Ties” is a narrative work
focused on an analogue representation of the two protagonists. The film depicts the last moments of an ill man (Ignazio
Oliva), laying in bed and comforted by his partner (Stefania Orsola Garello). The actor’s body is progressively covered by
stains, the quantity and positioning of which is determined by the number of visitors to the web site and their
geographical location. Thus the public’s interaction influences both the success of the operation and the progression of
the protagonist’s affliction.
The title of this work is derived from a review of the book “Touched with Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic
Temperament” by Kay Redfield Jamison. An important point to note is that “The Possible Ties” works on many levels. My
primary interest was evoked by its relation to the art market of today. Where might the point be when the artist and the
art world begin a game, faking a note of illness to manipulate or satisfy the demand of the market. Then the situation in
the art world will be more chaotic, then the chaos could become not only a reality, but also a mode of perception.
In an interview for Contemporary magazine Noah Stolz analyses artist’s relationships with success. CZ: “For an artist the
only way to survive just through his work is to find the way to success. Art forms push you to unveil your inner emotions
(if not directly in the result, for sure in the making process, which is a very hardcore practice), and this public-driven
mechanism sometimes drives you crazy. It’s a dangerous game to become an icon.”
I did not wish to mislead the reader when I mentioned the situation in the art market of today and the possibilities of new
perceptions: it was an attempt to lead the reader into an open debate. In the end “it does not really matter if the viewer
understands the concepts of the artist by seeing the art.” Sol Lewitt.
Positive progression in the art world today lies with new technologies and the possibility of a younger generation of
artists to dominate those technologies, being able to transform and manipulate them in the future. As I mentioned “The
Possible Ties “ works on many levels.
Carlo Zanni belongs to this younger generation of artists able to innovate in the creative process.




Lara Pan is independent curator based now in Brussels. She is known like someone who can make interesting and risky exhibitions in
unconventional places. Paco Barragán mentions her in his book "THE ART FAIR AGE": "she likes to use sometimes guerrilla tactics". Main
characteristics of her exhibitions are the artistic, geographic and cultural diversities shown together like in the latest "Walls & Gateways"
held in an abandoned factory in Ghent, Belgium. She is founder of The New Art Project. Since 2005 the sphere of her interest is
redefining the contemporary practice of spatial intervention with the use of a very wide range of artworks without media discrimination.