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Hoeing the sea

The video-performance Hoeing the Sea, through the image of a man who incessantly hoes the sea while wearing an anti-contagion suit, embodies a powerful metaphor of the challenges and contradictions of contemporary society in a time where ultra-digitalization coexists and global anthropocentric consequences. In a post-internet era marked by hyper-mediatization, the work opposes digital orthodoxy, challenging conventions and dominant narratives: while the protagonist continues to dig the inexhaustible depth of the sea, it invites us to question ourselves about the true nature of the globalized society in which we live. Through the repetitive, mechanical and apparently futile gesture, a subtle and incisive criticism emerges towards governments and institutions that promise changes but often produce only empty actions without concrete consequences. At the same time, the work also explores emotional connections with the land, ancestral memory and communities that transcend conventional borders, winking at the rampant land grabbing by private individuals and colonial governments. Tenderness and a sense of belonging emerge in man's gesture, even in a post-digital world characterized by networked individualism. Through its quest to "hoe the sea", the work aims to redefine globalization through interpersonal connections, offering a profound reflection on the contemporary dynamics of human society and our relationships with the world around us.

  • Luca Granato
    Director
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Zappava lu mari
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Other
  • Genres:
    Video-performance
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 32 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Accademia di Belle Arti di Catanzaro
  • Combat Prize 2023
    Livorno
    Italy
    Finalist, Special mention
Director Biography - Luca Granato

Luca Granato (1999) is a visual artist based in Southern Italy. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts of Catanzaro, graduating in Visual Arts and specializing in Painting and Environmental and Monumental Sculpture. He is artistic director of the “Osservatorio delle Maree” project, an open studio on the artistic-ethnological research that develops in Mediterranean.
In 2022 he was the winner of the Il Pendio Award, promoted by the Puglia Region, and of Searth – The European Video-Art Contest in the Adriatic Lagoon. promoted by the Friuli Venezia-Giulia Region, ZDSLU - Slovenian Association of Fine Arts Societies and by the Künstlerhaus of Vienna, while in 2023 he received a special mention at the international Combat Prize, with the work "Hoeing the sea". In 2024 he continued his research activity, being among the finalists of the fourth edition of the Exibart Prize and worked on two personal exhibitions: “Tabula Rasa” (Turin, IT) and “Slow in the dream” (Treviso, IT). Among the personal and collective exhibitions and artistic residencies we highlight those at STRAF Hotel (Milan), Booming Contemporary Art Show (Bologna), Cremona Art Fair (Cremona), Museo dei Bretti e degli Enotri (Cosenza), Industrie Fluviali (Rome), National Archaeological Museum of Sibaritide (Sibari), San Sebastiano Contemporary (Syracuse), Accademia Heritage Museum (Catanzaro), Ex Leopoldine (Florence), Luzzetti Museum (Grosseto), Isola della Cona (Gorizia), Cavallerizza Reale (Turin).

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Director Statement

His research is based on transdisciplinary interventions that reflect on the present time, investigating its consequences on the human condition in relation to human relationships, intimacy and collective memory. Strongly interested in experimentation, his projects are long-term on the antinomian conditions of the present time, ranging from painting to photography, from sculpture to performance, from environmental installation to video art. His research investigates personal and collective intimacy and the state of precariousness of memory and human action through a language and a path of investigation that is influenced by Mediterranean influences and the traditions of his land of origin, narrating and projecting the difficulties of Southern Italy, tormented by speculation, corruption and environmental disasters, in relation to the speed and complexity of contemporary times and the changes in global dynamics underway.
Personal intimacy and collective relationships are intertwined with the precarious state of memory and human action. Like an archaeologist of the soul, his projects probe the stratifications of the self, finding echoes of ancient Mediterranean sagas in the folds of his work. The traditions of his homeland become common threads in a universal narrative, which embraces and projects the challenges of Southern Italy. In a landscape tormented by speculation, corruption and environmental disasters, a voice emerges that rises against the fury of modern times. The speed and complexity of the present days are reflected in the work, offering a mirror in which global dynamics merge with local vicissitudes, materializing a profound and universal reflection on our being in the world, in time and space.