Art and technology, the multiplicity of world languages is the theme of 'CIELOTERRA - Piece of wor(l)d', an installation by artist Marina Tanaka realised in collaboration with the Institute of Mechanical Intelligence of the Sant'Anna School

An immersive experience integrating music, words, sounds and light effects. To affirm the multiplicity and richness of the world's languages. From Wednesday 8 February to Sunday 19 February, the Sant'Anna Church in Pisa will host the installation 'CIELOTERRA - Piece of wor(l)d', conceived by the Japanese artist Marina Tanaka in collaboration with the Institute of Mechanical Intelligence of the Sant'Anna School. The design and realisation of the installation is by Tanaka and Chiara Evengelista, while the scientific coordination is entrusted to Massimo Bergamasco, director of the Institute of Mechanical Intelligence. The inauguration of the exhibition will take place on 8 February.at 4 p.m.

Music through the combination of words

The installation 'CIELOTERRA - Piece of wor(l)d' was conceived for the space of the church of Sant'Anna in Pisa and has as its theme the richness and multiplicity of the world's languages. The work grew out of Marina Tanaka's personal experience of travelling and getting to know people of various nationalities.
In the scenography of the installation, the sky represents abstraction and utopia represented by the language Esperanto. The earth, on the other hand, represents the concreteness of human life represented by various languages. The visitor is thus immersed in a soundscape obtained from the pronunciation of words belonging to different idioms. In addition, the visitor encounters a rose symbolising ideal perfection, which is suspended above the ground and thus loses its lifeblood. The towers in the installation express the human ambition and desire for a rush towards utopia.

"The artist Tanaka - explains Prof. Massimo Bergamasco - has been collaborating with the Institute of Mechanical Intelligence since 2016 in the design of audio-visual installations as part of projects for the application of digital technologies to Art and Cultural Heritage. In the CIELOTERRA installation, the visitor is immersed in a soundscape obtained through the manipulation of words and symbols from more than 20 different idioms in order to generate a musical composition". 

Cover photo: Marina Tanaka and Marcello Carrozzino.