Artist: Ilaria Vinci
Exhibition title: Iris IV: Our Last Best Hope at Plymouth Rock and Iris IV: Mind Gamer at Longtang
Venue: Plymouth Rock, Longtang, Zurich, Switzerland
Date: December 17, 2021 – February 1, 2022
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Plymouth Rock and Longtang, Zurich
Iris IV: Our Last Best Hope
Iris is a hero type in an epic franchise, the absent main character of a double saga exhibition between my space and Longtang’s. In the giant diorama here, part toy / part stage, she researches. Books are piled high to the cosmos, an icy desert globe spotted with desirable seas sits center and a collection of extraterrestrial vehicles are preserved in giant glass jugs. Impossible bottles have been curios in wonder cabinets for centuries, but it wasn’t until civilization started mass producing waste, glass included, that the ship in the bottle became a classic of vernacular creativity. The work of Ilaria Vinci, in pieces and wholes, is technical, sweeping in scale and concept and anchored by a belief in the power of truths hidden out in the open. It’s become a cliche that our last decades lean towards science fiction and fantasy. But hasn’t it always been true? The hopeful mirror we create in our own image? In Vinci’s compositions that place entertainment and literature and advertising and our known universe into a blender she speaks to honest realities of possibilities. There is a deep optimism in depicting any far future. Iris, unseen but hovering, surely acts as an alter ego for the artist and as a selectable avatar for the rest of us visiting these visual games. A place where knowledge is collected and stored and saved Is our last best hope. The portal will take you to Mind Gamer.
Iris IV: Mind Gamer
Iris is a hero type in an epic franchise, the absent main character of a double saga exhibition between Plym-outh Rock and Longtang. After Iris’ research in a giant diorama she reaches the portal that brings her to her favorite game Divided Mind.
There you are, Iris!
It’s been a while. I guess you are still figuring out how to handle the portal without getting those migraine attacks with aura. I beg you to follow my advice, so you wouldn‘t need to wonder about these splashy and bobbly auratic lights again and again.
Anyway, now you‘re here, in your mind map, and ready to face a new challenge. Let‘s just hope it goes bet-ter than last time. You know: sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.
I don‘t need to explain what this level offers you. Last time you lost miserably and I think it was enough of a lesson to make you understand that maybe you shouldn‘t start again from the Vulnerability challenge. So? Which one are you thinking of starting with? Integrity or Resilience? The choice is yours. But come what may, you‘ll grow. It‘s useless to huff and puff – you know it‘s your turn! Besides, you chose it, didn‘t you? You’re at level seven, you can’t give up yet, you have a lot to learn to reach level thirty. Counting these three rings of challenge, you still have fifty-four more to go. You know that it can‘t always go well, so you just have to accept your weaknesses and use your strengths. So, try to stop with the lame muffins and aim for the best rewards for once.
I knew it, you got tired of hearing me talk and couldn‘t wait to get started.
So this time you chose Integrity, great choice. Just remember…Come on little Iris, keep fighting, concen-trate and use all your efforts without ever giving up. This time you will get closer to the key and soon you will be one step away from becoming Queen. I believe in you.
Text: Raffaele Vinci
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Mischa Schlegel/ Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci,This window is my sky, this room my world, Wood panels, mixed media, 221 x 220 cm (in two panels), each / Picture: Mischa Schlegel/ Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, A beating of giant wings (Worker bee), 2021, Glass jar, mixed media 65 x 25 x 25 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, A beating of giant wings (Worker bee), 2021, Glass jar, mixed media 65 x 25 x 25 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
A delicate system (Fortuna J5), 2021, Globe, mixed media 100 x 65 x 65 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, A beating of giant wings (Viper MK VII), 2021, Glass jar, mixed media 55 x 25 x 25 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, A beating of giant wings (Viper MK VII), 2021, Glass jar, mixed media 55 x 25 x 25 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
laria Vinci, A beating of giant wings (Narcissus), 2021, Glass jar, mixed media 55 x 25 x 25 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, A beating of giant wings (Narcissus), 2021, Glass jar, mixed media 55 x 25 x 25 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Plymouth Rock
Ilaria Vinci, Reveal yourself, release yourself, 2021, Wall Paint, Dimensions Variable / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, Further and faster through your soul, Mixed media, Diameter 23 x 45 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, Further and faster through your soul, Mixed media, Diameter 23 x 45 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, „Catch you lucky star!“, Printed Fabric, 275 x 450 cm; Divided Minds, Acrylic on Wood, 200 × 300 cm; Further and faster through your soul, Mixed media, Diameter 23 x 45 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, „Catch you lucky star!“, Printed Fabric, 275 x 450 cm; Divided Minds, Acrylic on Wood, 200 × 300 cm; Further and faster through your soul, Mixed media, Diameter 23 x 45 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, Divided Minds, Acrylic on Wood, 200 × 300 cm; Further and faster through your soul, Mixed media, Diameter 23 x 45 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, Installation view / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, In my mind, in my head (kingdom), Metallic Paint, Dimensions Variable; Further and faster through your soul, Mixed media, Diameter 23 x 45 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang
Ilaria Vinci, In my mind, in my head (kingdom), Metallic Paint, Dimensions Variable; Further and faster through your soul, Mixed media, Diameter 23 x 45 cm / Picture: Flavio Karrer / Courtesy: the Artist and Longtang