David Medalla leads rainy day tribute to Pigafetta

DAVID Medalla and Adam Nankervis COURTESY OF MONDRIAN FAN CLUB
DAVID Medalla and Adam Nankervis COURTESY OF MONDRIAN FAN CLUB

 

 

The unexpected summer shower Wednesday afternoon failed to stop the performance planned by artist David Medalla in Vicenza, an hour-long train ride outside Venice.

The Filipino kinetic artist is in Italy as a featured artist at the Philippine Pavilion of this year’s Venice Biennale.

As the train pulled out of the station, Medalla and his long time collaborator Adam Nankervis read from a Pigafetta fable before unspooling a length of colored string.

Medalla then asked the people in the shared car to tie something of their own to the string—a boarding pass, a cord protector, a friendship bracelet—to thank Pigafetta for chronicling his voyage and putting the Philippines on the map.

At Vicenza, we all gathered around the monument, sang the Filipino folk song “Sitsiritsit Alibangbang, and elicited bemused stares from passersby.

Today at 3 p.m., he performs at the Philippine Pavilion.

DAVID Medalla (seated) and artist collaborator Adam Nankervis read a fable on Antonio Pigafetta on the train to Vicenza.
MEDALLA and Nankervis flank curator Patrick Flores at the monument to Pigafetta in Vicenza.  They are holding tokens from the Philippine group ‘given’ to the Pigafetta.
MEDALLA poses in front of a thatch of cogon he said must have come from the Philippines.

Read more...