Somatic Spaces | Act I

'Somatic Spaces'
blossoms from the collaboration of the visual artist and performer Isabel Rodriguez Ramos and the sound artist and songwriter Rossana De Pace. It consists of field research, both performative and audiovisual, carried out in natural territories of the world with always different inputs. This project aims to create new awareness about the possible interactions and contaminations between humans and nature.

Starting from the philosophical assumption – one of the core values of the animist tradition – that the earth is animated and therefore endowed with spirit, “Somatic Spaces” presents itself as the opportunity to investigate the physical space of the body through the environment and vice versa, considering the inner soul and the outer earth united by osmosis. Peoples from many different cultures perceive the land not in terms of a mother who nurtures and punishes (Cartesian view), but rather as an integral part of their souls. In the light of the man-nature binomial, Isabel investigated this correspondence through site-specific performative acts and resumed the creative process, documenting its evolution.

Believing in the internationality of art, the Italian artistic duo would like to broaden the perspectives of this project by organizing live performances within the future artistic residencies they will take part in. “Somatic Spaces” is in all respects a “work in progress” and, to be developed in its following acts, it needs funding and support. Isabel and Rossana are committed to revolving around the original concept and declining it in new environments, in order to enhance the wild territories around the world. The conclusion of the project will be celebrated with a feature movie made up of shots of all the acts realized, and the final purpose is to show it in all those territories that allowed "Somatic Spaces" to grow and take shape.