«But even now it is manifest and clear that there are neither times future nor times past. Thus it is not properly said that there are three times, past, present, and future. Perhaps it might be said rightly that there are three times: a time present of things past; a time present of things present; and a time present of things future. For these three do coexist somehow in the soul, for otherwise I could not see them. The time present of things past is memory; the time present of things present is direct experience; the time present of things future is expectation». 

(Sant’Agostino, Confessions, 398) 

 

What are the past, the present and the future, if not mere products of our perception? Is there a single never-changing reality perceived as such by all human beings or are there multiple realities differing from person to person?  Is vision limited to the sense of shape, colour and movement, or is it a multicomponential phenomenon that only marginally involves the eyes? 

Starting at 6.30 p.m. until sunset, on May 8th 2022, L’Attesa opens to the public in via dei Volsci 165, Rome, as the third and last act of Tre Scenari sulla Percezione del Tempo - Numero Cromatico’s exhibition lasting one solar year. The project was conceived as an ever-changing journey that proceeds in stages, where the artworks and the space are drastically transformed over time. 

In the third act, both the works of art and the environment itself are calling the public to question themselves about the future, or rather, each one of them about their own future.

All the elements entering the scene, including the materials and contents of the artworks, were studied precisely to trigger an inward-looking, multisensory, aesthetic experience in the viewers. An unprecedented artificial intelligence was trained by the collective for the purpose of creating the artworks on show, which goes by the name of SONH, acronym for Statements Of a New Humanity.  

Numero Cromatico’s project space is the chosen venue, a rather peculiar place near the Cimitero Monumentale del Verano in Rome, in the historical area of the marble workers. The space does not function as a mere container, but rather turns itself into a tool enhancing the aesthetic experience of the viewers. 

Some of the core values the collective has been working out in recent years do surface through the exhibition, as to say, interdisciplinarity, interaction, the artist’s expressive abstinence, embodiment, minimality, sensoriality, and the study of emotions. It is through the exhibition that we dwell on the relationship between human beings and the environment, the natural and the artificial.

Throughout the duration of the exhibition an experiment in neuroaesthetics will be carried out. Those interested in taking part in the experiment are kindly invited to book an appointment according to the guidelines posted on Numero Cromatico’s web pages.