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Tommaso Fiscaletti

Photography Lecturer

Tommaso Fiscaletti

02/09/2024
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CTCA

Tommaso Fiscaletti (1981) is a visual artist and photographer based in Cape Town, South Africa. He was born in Cattolica, Italy, in 1981 and has been living in Cape Town since 2013. His work, includes photographs and installations, explore themes like human awareness of the universe, the passage of time, and interpersonal relationships. His art has been featured in public collections and exhibitions, including at the Santa Maria Della Scala Museum in Siena and the IZIKO South African Museum in Cape Town. Over six years, Tommaso collaborated with Nic Grobler on “Hemelliggaam or The Attempt To Be Here Now,” a visual archive that explores the existential relationship between humans, the environment, and astronomy. This project incorporates significant scientific sites and elements from old Afrikaans science fiction novels.

Tommaso is collaborating on a new project, “The Skin Underneath,” with anthropologist Nicola Perugini. This project investigates citizens’ perceptions of a Fascist-era building in Pesaro, Italy through photographs and installations. In addition to his artistic practice, Tommaso has taught photography workshops at the IED in Milan and currently teaches at the Creative Academy in Cape Town.

THE SKIN UNDERNEATH / LA PELLE SOTTO by Tommaso Fiscaletti and Nicola Perugini

Through photographs and installations, this project investigates citizens’ perception of the Villa Marina colony, a Fascist-era building on the seafront of Pesaro (the author’s hometown in Italy), reconnecting to memories related to racial issues.

The project “The Skin Underneath” by Tommaso Fiscaletti and Nicola Perugini continues to explore the “uncomfortable heritage” of Villa Marina, a building linked to colonialism and racism in Pesaro, Italy. Following the installation of Sun Baths on the building’s facade, the project now includes a series of urban “billboards” titled 7 Interferences. These posters blend images and words to offer a new perspective on the abandoned building, turning its decay into a powerful commentary on dismantling the idea of colonialism and challenging collective memory.

“Arranging fragments of memory from across geographies, moments in history, and medium, the artwork Sun Baths offers the viewer a multiplicity of connecting paths between the Villa Marina colony in Pesaro, Italy’s overseas colonialism, and the ever-relevant racial question. The installation arises in an institution-building created during the fascist Ventennio as a heliotherapy space where children were subjected to sunlight with the aim of strengthening themselves and preparing the “Italian race” for the colonization of Africa. Decades of neglect have resulted in the building deteriorating with areas wrapped and bandaged, giving the illusion of a two-dimensional space – much like a canvas – which has allowed a flattening of historical gaze. Found objects from the natural world are here connected to images to create a lyrical and idiosyncratic network of communication, exchange, and rediscovery that is held together through the forces of light and shadow.”