Daniele Maffeis (born 1982 in Bergamo) lives and works in Milan, Italy. His artistic work focuses on ecology and the history of social and political ideas, i.e. how they develop, influence each other and shape individual and group behaviour. Currently, he is focusing on „gaze regimes“ and the abolition of sexuality in nudist culture.
His project involves interaction with a natural environment that – influenced by particular human behaviour – becomes a cruising area for homosexuals. This context, characterised by lush nature, is radically altered at certain times of the day by a complex network of behavioural patterns: Ambush reconnaissance, chases, avoidant looks, denied looks, concealment, predatory intimacy, frustration and pleasure. A fascinating and hard-to-categorise context in which there are spaces for experimentation and sexual freedom. It is at the same time a place where highly stereotyped, often instrumentalising and exclusive forms of interaction are played out, a space that is both belonging and segregation: an island.
Daniele Maffei’s project is designed to interact with the heterogeneous community of individuals and their desires that come into contact with his staging. For a fortnight, the artist will visit the island to initiate small changes. A first stage of intervention is purely scenographic and consists of introducing visual and textual presences in the natural-looking environment. Unexpected appearances are meant to introduce surprise and a self-reflexive shift.
On 28 July, the artist will talk about the impressions gathered during his stay in an ad hoc staging and narrative performance.