The artistic duo UCCI UCCI was founded with the goal of developing artistic research through an ethnographic approach. Sociological analysis and aesthetic exploration are essential tools for the creation of their language. Their works arise from immersion in a specific territory, activated in its anthropological and environmental dimensions. The work is not decontextualized or detached from the environment in which it exists but captures its emergent phenomena. Languages, stories, traditions, rituals, and landscapes of communities constitute the layers of their works, conceived as "hypertextual objects." Through a relational practice and the activation of anthropic landscapes, aesthetics and ethnographic research engage in dialogue. This dialogue aims to evoke unexpected theorical and aesthetic short circuits that emerge from artistic practice, enabling a dimension where reflection is both poetic and political. Their work addresses cultural and social issues through an interdisciplinary and relational artistic practice, with the intention of evoking territories, subcultures, and hidden or endangered cultures. Artistic research is expressed through performative and visual works.
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In 2024, the duo is a finalist at the Biennale College Teatro 2024 “Directing” with the work HÒS. They create the film Attraversare il drago with the support of the European platform Magic Carpets EU and Latitudo Art Projects. They win Mittelyoung 2024 (Mittelfest) with Twisted World, awarded for “its relevance, risk-taking, innovation, and the complexity of its construction.” They found the scientific journal IMPURE – Journal of Art and Anthropology, composed of international artists, researchers, and anthropologists. They study and work at the Historical Archive of Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio.
In 2023, the duo presents the solo exhibitions Artificial Hells at Quartier Am Hafen and Sedimenti at the Italian Cultural Institute in Cologne, Germany. They begin production of the film Sediments with the support of the International Archive of Performance Art Black Kit in Cologne and the Italian Cultural Institute in Cologne. They create the work Canto III with the support of the artistic residency LAB EUROPE at the Hase 29 Gallery in Osnabrück, Germany.
In 2022, the duo wins the ArtèEuropa prize awarded by the European Parliament, the Ragnarock Association, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. In the same year, they receive a special mention at the “Premio Scenario Infanzia”.
In 2021, the duo creates the film Η ΧΗΡΑ ΤΣΑΙ Ο ΚΑΤΡΕΓΑΡΗ – The Widow and the Brigand with the support of the municipality of Staiti (RC), and wins the award for Best Performance at the 64th Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, as part of the European Young Theatre.
Gloria Zeppilli (1998) holds degrees in “Sculpture” and “Sculpture and New Applied Technologies” from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, with the theses Beyond Domination. The Act of Creation as Subversive to the Dominant System and Notes and Attempts for a Hypertextual Work, written under the supervision of Paolo Canevari. Since 2020, she has collaborated with Salvatore Crucitti, founding the artistic research duo UCCI UCCI and the scientific journal IMPURE, together with Crucitti and anthropologist Francesco Marano.
Salvatore Crucitti (1998) studied “Theories and Techniques of Audiovisual Media” at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, and graduated in “Directing” in 2022 from the National Academy of Dramatic Art “Silvio d’Amico.” He is the winner of the 2021 “European Young Theatre” award for Best Performance (Festival dei Due Mondi, Spoleto). The performance Ninnoli received a special mention from the jury at the 2022 Premio Scenario Infanzia. Since 2020, he has collaborated with Gloria Zeppilli, founding the artistic research duo UCCI UCCI.