Clément Cogitore. Ferdinandea, The ephemeral island

Description

In June 1831, the eruption of an underwater volcano between Sicily, Tunisia and Libya gave rise to a small, arid island made of ash. While sailors and inhabitants of the neighbouring coasts feared the awakening of a monster, the new territory aroused the curiosity of scientists and the covetousness of European powers, who sought to claim its strategic position. However, the competition was short-lived: six months later, the ephemeral island, named "Ferdinandea" by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, sank back beneath the waves of the Mediterranean.

Video artist, visual artist, storyteller and filmmaker Clément Cogitore takes this historical and geological phenomenon as the starting point for an empirical fiction. Based on historical research and speculative projection, his series of works entitled 'Ferdinandea' recounts the emergence and disappearance of the volcanic island in a multimedia installation combining 16 mm films, videos, photographs and historical documents. The exhibition catalogue, designed as an artist's book, unfolds a visual narrative bordering on the dystopian, inviting the reader on a dreamlike and metaphorical journey. Placed at the heart of the book, an unpublished short story by Tristan Garcia emphasises the fictional nature of the work.