Casa a Mare is a container of a parallel imaginary . A second life that replicates objects, habits and obsessions through a conversion mechanism capable of founding a new scale of values. Casa Mare is a further possibility. Just as its name indicates, (in Italian it means literally “popular beach house”, a spread element of the architectural landscape of the south of Italy, often selfmade without recognized criterions), is a alternative residence by definition, and it expresses the intention to create a living dimension through the use of materials “recovered”, used, and still in a position to fully functional aesthetics, and dense references evocative.

Casa a Mare (artists Luca Coclite and Giuseppe De Mattia with the curator Claudio Musso) has welcomed the invitation of Pelagica to present his first solo exhibition at its new space Milan. The title of the exhibition “Na Na Na” means at the same time a request of attention and a soundtrack that resonates throughout the whole space. The sound expressed by the repetition of the syllable “na”, with particular pronunciation of the Puglia local dialect (South Italy), is capable of producing a chant-like babbling child, also known as the reliable sources for the choice of the word “Dada”. “Na na na” implies an invitation to look, and an exhortation to wield something. Casa a Mare is a narrow to the recent past almost forgotten, and the chance of falling into a timeless condition in which visions, thoughts, reflections collide. Towards the development of an imaginary built sometimes as a juxtaposition of images.

In the case of Para-cane (a reconstruction of a bricks wall used as enclosure) the reference is to the safeguard as defense device, such as that expressed by the boundary walls of the rural houses, as the poet Eugenio Montale wrote in his verse “a wall who on top of sharp shards of bottle”. The architectural and sculptural recreated in the space are an expression of a humble culture, a material that finds its pride in imitation of classical forms , rhythms, and greek freat, which over time have replaced the glyph in stone with cement. Like a real house, Casa a Mare is provided with special “guest rooms”, and is open to collaboration with other artists whose research intersects the themes of the project , whose contribution is necessary to the creation of the atmosphere. The second guest is Pelagica, in the double role of curator and artist, whose investigation into the Mediterranean is closely linked to instances of the exhibition.

All photographs taken during the construction of Para-cane, a site specific installation built on the occasion of the exhibition Na Na Na in the Pelagica spaces in Milan from from june 3 to 14  © Pelagica