We will learn more about the concept and the artistic searches, from the artist's words below.

"In search of an authentic artistic experience, I felt the need to exhibit in a unique space where the elements of the environment, atmosphere, and architecture intertwine harmoniously.

This long-standing desire, this artistic need, found its fulfillment with the project SUSPENDARE (Suspention) which was exhibited in September 2023, marking a moment of essential revelation in my artistic journey. And now, in FRAGMENTUM CAELI.

Because SUSPENDARE was the source of inspiration for FRAGMENTUM CAELI it led me to the decision to exhibit in a space that offers perfect harmony between the surrounding environment, distinct atmosphere, and unique architecture.

Thus, I am launching a new direction in my artistic journey through which I explore a unique perspective that emphasizes the subtle interaction between creation and place, in an effort to offer the public an unprecedented artistic experience.

FRAGMENTUM CAELI aims to highlight local elements through an unconventional artistic approach, whose central element is wooden shingles, a symbol rich in local history and tradition.

Choosing this local element brings to the forefront not only aesthetic beauty but also the historical and cultural roots of the place. The cathedral itself, through the absence of stained glass windows, becomes a canvas awaiting my creation.

Through this pictorial project, I want to highlight this chromatic absence, accentuate the space, and create a symbiosis between past and present. The suspended installation, inspired by the tunic of the Teutonic knight (a fragment of chain mail), adds a narrative dimension and deepens the connection between art and history, between past and present. This experience is not just an artistic act, but also a form of dialogue with the cathedral and the community, with both the present and the past.

In a sacred space, exploration through the lyrical neo-expressionist manner of work becomes a means of communicating deep emotions and ideas, without compromising the spiritual integrity of the place."

“Manifestación” has a metaphysical significance for Malba, an institution dedicated to Latin American art. In the 1930s, Berni opened a new horizon for Argentine art with the New Realism. This theoretical support sustains and links “Manifestación” to a large part of the works exhibited in this museum. In Paris, Berni had found a personal style within surrealism. He was only 25 when he returned to Argentina and discovered the crisis, unemployment, and misery. He then rethought his position as an artist. The dramatic experience induced him to found the New Realism, a movement connected to social events.

Ninety years after the first public appearance of Antonio Berni's “Manifestación”, the Mondongo duo presented a remake in plasticine, together with a tondo and a site-specific installation. It is a tondo de la Villa II, a circular piece, also in plasticine, two meters in diameter that deals with scenes from the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Dharavi (Bombay, India), and Rio de Janeiro. To reach the works, first, you can cross or go around a site-specific installation, which recreates the aesthetics of precarious housing, made of sheet metal and wood, more in the style of emergency settlements like those that today are built in the land seizures than in a villa, but in this case, they refer to the houses that were built in the first half of the twentieth century.

This decision of aesthetic proposal does not go unnoticed and is proposed as an invitation to debate. The fact that it takes place in a private museum and not in a public one, in one of the most expensive areas of Buenos Aires, will be an argument for both sides because while some will see it as a dispiriting gesture at a time of enormous social injustice, for others it will be precisely these characteristics that make it the ideal space to highlight an inescapable reality.

This exhibition goes beyond the commemorative, as it once again brings into discussion the role that art can play. The theme of Manifestación continues to be valid, and that is beyond discussion. One only needs to go out in the street, be attentive to the news, or even scroll through that construct of subjectivities that are the social networks, to understand that the piece was extended in national history until the present. And this remake of Mondongo, at this moment in history, proves it. Due to the cyclical nature of Argentina, the reversion of the duo formed by Juliana Laffitte and Manuel Mendanha, made in high relief format, is presented in a social context with points in common with the original: with half of the country under the poverty line, protests and violence in front of Congress, to name a few.

May 18 was the date on which the global winners of the most prestigious photojournalism competition were announced, the one that always directs our attention to the stories of the moment, the ones that matter now, all visually translated into photographs that have both journalistic and artistic valences of the highest level.

The 146 photographs in the World Press Photo 2024 exhibition focus on the war in Gaza and Ukraine, migration, family and mental health, demonstrating the importance of photojournalism as a tool to inform, raise awareness and anchor what is happening now. The concept of reality varies in forms and meanings, because the reality of the moment is different for each region of the globe. We hear stories from multiple realities unfolding simultaneously, to which we can only position ourselves as observers from a distance, which is why most of the time we do not understand them in depth. Photojournalism brings clarity through impact and emotion.

Four of the best photos of 2024

Photo of the Year "A Palestinian Woman Embraces the Body of Her Niece" belongs to Reuters News Agency contributor Mohammed Salem. The photographer describes his image as a "powerful and sad moment that sums up the broader meaning of what was happening in the Gaza Strip." He found Inas squatting on the ground, embracing the child, at the Nasser Hospital morgue, where residents were going to search for missing relatives. Inas had raced to the family home when she heard that it had been hit, and then on to the morgue.

The jury's comment

"The jury was deeply moved by the way this image evokes an emotional reflection in each viewer. Composed with care and respect, it simultaneously offers a metaphorical and literal glimpse of unimaginable loss. Set in a geographically distant medical setting, it resonates globally, urging us to confront the desensitization of the consequences of human conflict. The image is multi-layered, representing the loss of a child, the struggle of the Palestinian people and the 31,000 dead in Palestine. Symbolic of the impact of conflict, the image makes a statement about the futility of all wars."

The jury acknowledged that this photographer was awarded for the same subject almost a decade ago, underscoring the ongoing struggle for recognition of such a pressing issue. The conflict in Gaza has a history of 75 years now.

The Story of the Year award was won by Lee-Ann Olwage for "Valim-Babena" which tells the story of a grandfather suffering from dementia who prepares to go to church with his niece. The photo draws attention to the spread of this disease globally. The story illustrates the Malagasy principle of valim-babena, meaning the duty of children to help their parents.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 55 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, more than 60% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries. In Madagascar, the WHO estimates that around 40,000 people are living with Alzheimer's. A lack of public awareness of dementia means that people with symptoms of memory loss are often stigmatised. Many consider the symptoms to be signs of witchcraft, demonic possession, or "madness."

Another award-winning photo is "The Two Walls" by Alejandro Cegarra, which captures an emigrant walking on top of a freight train known as "The Beast" in Piedras Negras, Mexico. Immigrants often use freight trains to reach the US border. Thus thousands of Mexicans died or were maimed, falling on the railway. But this is not the sure danger to which they are exposed.

"War Is Personal", by Julia Kochetova, draws attention to the situation in Ukraine and invites us to imagine what it feels like when war becomes your daily reality.

All winning photos and their stories can be seen here - https://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photocontest/2024/winners

worldpressphoto.org ; eidosfoundation.org