LIVING CERTOSA by Robin Lopvet
Curated by Kublaiklan
Milano Certosa District
16th of April–end of June 2024
Opening on Tuesday 16th of April at 6.30 PM
An artistic narrative on the evolution of the district, developed through an unprecedented series of large-format photographic collages, documenting in an ironic and appealing way the ongoing redevelopment process and the local community present. Shopkeepers, laborers, restaurateurs, and many others that Lopvet met and photographed capturing moments in the daily lives of those who live and work in the district.
The result is a series of photographic images that will be exhibited as open-air installations in the Milano Certosa District, going into the urban fabric accessible to all between Piazza Cacciatori delle Alpi and Via Varesina, thus making visible what is often lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life: the importance of the people who populate the district and participate in its rebirth and transformation.
Robin Lopvet’s photographs stage imaginative compositions that start with the simplicity of the everyday, going on to extrapolate fragments from it that, as the artist himself explains, he “collects, disassembles, shuffles and puts back together.” The result is brightly colored images on which surreal and playful elements are grafted, at times alienating: the bodies blend with the environment in the same way that the photographs, set up in Certosa’s public space, blend with the city’s architecture.
The project, curated by the Kublaiklan collective, also aims to stimulate thought about photography’s ability to generate visionary images that start from reality and depart from it, leaving room for creativity and imagination, resulting in the viewer’s desire to daydream. Photography that is able to intrigue and at the same time make people think, thanks to its aesthetic impact but above all to the process behind the images, the result of an active exchange with the district community. Imagination and reality are thus mixed thanks to the artist’s intervention.
More in detail, Robin Lopvet’s artistic intervention within the Milano Certosa District develops with several installations in Piazza Cacciatori delle Alpi and continues in Via Varesina, particularly on the facade of the Factory (former Sandvik) at number 184 and outside the new Whirlpool headquarters at number 204.
Robin Lopvet, born in 1990, is a French photographer whose artistic research is mainly expressed through photo collage. He exhibits internationally (France, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, China, Spain, Poland and Russia) and is a specialist in the field of image post-production.
Underlying his practice is the desire to “transform the consumer society into a society of recovery,” where photography becomes the ideal tool with which to experiment with the creative force of recycling, translating this philosophy into fascinating and surreal compositions, the result of imaginative digital manipulations.
Kublaiklan is a collective that explores widespread ways of interacting with photography through the creation of exhibitions, publications and educational activities. Specifically, the collective develops a reflection on the contemporary image through projects that aim to make photography an accessible and conscious language. Over the years, Kublaiklan has specialized in curating site-specific installations in public space. It has exhibited in numerous national and international photography festivals: among others, Gibellina PhotoRoad (Italy), Images Vevey (Switzerland), Cortona On The Move (Italy), Urbi&Orbi (France).
Milano Certosa District, located in the northwest area of the city, is the district at the center of a major redevelopment project promoted by RealStep, a real estate development company specializing in the sustainable urban regeneration of former industrial sites. Guiding the transformation process is a vision focused on people and, in particular, on the quality of life of all those who live in the district or frequent it for work or leisure during the day, through the combination of sustainability, innovation and collective well-being as a driver for the regeneration of urban areas. The development intervention of the Milano Certosa District aims to preserve the history and character of the area while promoting a lively district, where evocative former industrial spaces stand side by side with avant-garde buildings, among green areas, executive spaces, new services, shops and catering activities that favor independent and research-based brands, to which is added a wide annual program of events to animate the district
Copyright © Robin Lopvet, all rights reserved
