Carla Zaccagnini: An Installation Around the Sense of Community and Collective Work at MUSAC

Metaphorically the installation alludes to the sense of community and collective work, concepts that she shares with her works and the discursive lines that articulate the exposition. A work, that by its own nature goes against the rhythm of the exhibition is presented during the course of itself, and with the space, no longer belongs within the wing, but in one of the green zones of the museum, bringing a new social dimension to this space whose function until now has been landscapes exclusively.

The piece is a park with swings that are connected by a complex hydro-mechanic system that is activated by the simultaneous use of the pieces that compose it, producing a result. The installation, presented at the 28th Biennial in São Paulo, was recently donated by the artist to the MUSAC collection, and begins with the physical principle that every action has a reaction. The piece will be permanently installed in the exterior of the museum for the use and enjoyment of the public, specially children and teenagers, this regenerating the urban framework that surrounds the building, as a social and collective space.

The park is composed by a swing, a seesaw, a carrousel, and two deck chairs (“tumbonas”). The first and second have a pump system underneath that, when activated by playing in the attractions, enable the water to move and reach an elevated box with a valve. If someone is sitting on a deck chair while this happens, their weight makes the valve open, turning on a “ mondolo” pump and releasing a stream of water from a fountain. Meanwhile, the "gira gira" (turn/turn) uses another system, called Archimedes’ screw, so that when it is used it completed the same function (making a stream of water come out of the fountain) as long as the second deck chair is occupied. Therefore, it’s necessary for all the swings to be in use at the same time in order to produce an evident result- the movement of the swings- and an unexpected result- the activation of the fountains as the result of collective work-.

The piece not only alludes to the sense of community and collective work. On a basic level the result of Reação em cadeia com efeito variable is thoroughly predictable, that is to say: the person who puts in the force coming down on the seesaw is conscious that his or her actions makes it possible for the other person to go up. On the other hand, there exists the possibility that that work will have consequences that are not previously measures, and that are imperceptible and, thus, unpredictable. This duality of planes (the expected and the unexpected or the surprising) that also appear with frequency in the language is a recurrent theme in Zaccagnini, given the interest of the artist on the concept of discourse: how it is structured, what is revealed, and what can be deconstructed and recomposed in order to re-signify it at the end.

Carla Zaccagnini (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1973) lives and works in São Paulo. Settled in São Paulo for eight years, her work is characterized by its reflections on knowledge, mental processes, institutions, perceptions or representations an reflections. All these act as starting points for the execution of the activities carried out by the collaboration of third persons, who compliment the interest of the artist in helping us see how we perceive the world.

From her numerous individual and collective expositions, the ones that stand out are: No. It is opposition", Art Gallery of York University, Toronto, Canadá (2008), "Selection of Award-Winning Artist at Arteamericas", Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation - CIFO, Miami, USA (2008), "Museu das Vistas", Ersta Konsthall, Nationalmuseum, Estocolmo, Suécia (2007) o "Cité Action", Assenede, Bélgica (2006).