MonETH

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you brought an industrial cutting blade into contact with a television screen? No? Well, probably neither did the collectors present at the Asilo Ciani during the NFT Fest Lugano, who found themselves spectators of one of my recent performances.

It was my first performance after Fabbrica del Vapore, and the idea made me quite nervous. Just before the start time, I began to make a few small appearances among the audience, just to reassure the people in the room and make them stay, in case they thought I had run away.

The event was organized in collaboration with the city council of the city, famous for its high standard of living and its casinos, so what background could I have chosen to incise if not the video of "Money," the iconic musical classic by Pink Floyd? An easy and quick way to express my personal critique of the place where I was and at the same time endear myself to the local crowd.

Jokes aside, I didn't expect the performance to be so well-received and go so smoothly. An unexpected and wonderful synergy was created with the audience, my gaze and theirs followed every movement of the blade, all held in a silence that seemed eternal, even though it was brief.

Once it was all over, there was a moment of silence where no one moved, and then the applause. A little bow to savor that moment, and then people began to approach to admire the artwork up close and take some photographs.

At that moment, I truly understood how powerful what I do can be. I felt full of pride, and if I used to stand slightly apart before the performances, now I found myself in the center of the room, full of pride, answering all the questions that were asked of me.

This was not and will not be my only performance; I have many more on the calendar, and I hope to have you by my side in those moments to share them with you.