Alberto Papparotto

[he/him, IT]

Deconsecrated Meat

Unholy Bodies

[EN]Alberto Papparotto [he/him, 1998] is an interdisciplinary artist based in London with Italian and Filipino roots.

He combines his background in beauty with a passion for fine art. He uses the different materials he works with to explore the realms of aesthetics of ugliness and beauty across its spectrum and is primarily inspired by human anatomy, microbiology, and horror imagery.

His practice began in makeup and hairstyling and gradually expanded to photography, painting and sculpture.

[IT]Alberto Papparotto [egli/lui, 1998] è un artista interdisciplinare con radici italiane e filippine, basato a Londra.

Incorpora il suo background nel settore del beauty con la sua passione per l'arte ed utilizza vari materiali per esplorare i regni dell'estetica della bruttezza e della bellezza in tutto il suo spettro. È principalmente ispirato dall'anatomia umana, dalla microbiologia e dall'immaginario horror.

Le sue pratiche partono dal trucco e dal hairstyling e si sono gradualmente diramate verso fotografia, pittura e scultura.

[EN]Representing de-spiritualized bodies within a deconsecrated church, the artist creates an accesible diorama installation that allows spectators to be part of the diorama as they enter the space. Uncooked clay acts as the main material to express the physical body, like Abrahamic religions where man is created out of clay or dirt. Clay is a part of an eternal cycle of transitions. Decomposition brings our flesh back to dirt. Meat becomes clay.

The visceral, the guts, and anatomical parts are customarily viewed with disgust, and if brought to the extreme they become the bad, and eventually, the devil. For the artist, it represents our insides and our spirit, and the creation of guts within the artist's work speaks on introspection, self reflection and ultimately the deepest part of our soul. Another element to the project is the microcosmos, cells, neurons, and bacteria that keep us alive without us noticing. This is represented with analog projections of water and oil to create a light show that casts magnified shadows across the altar and the whole installation. And lastly, the olfactory system or the sense of smell: by utilizing frankincense, one of the oldest perfumes used by humanity and relating to modern day religious services, the artist utlilizes the capability of smell to trigger memories and explore a deeper, collective, ancestral memory.

[IT]Questa installazione in una chiesa sconsacrata presenta un’esperienza multisensoriale che scava nei corpi de-spiritualizzati attraverso un diorama. L’argilla grezza rappresenta il ciclo continuo del corpo fisico, mentre il viscerale simboleggia lo spirito interiore. L’intricato microcosmo di cellule, neuroni e batteri prende vita attraverso una proiezione analogica. L’incenso, una fragranza antica e venerata, stimola ricordi ancestrali e richiama emozioni più profonde attraverso il potere del profumo. L’installazione porta lo spettatore in un viaggio avvincente segnato da performance che danno vita ai vari elementi, passando attraverso la creazione e la distruzione.