COLLATERAL EFFECTS

DETAILS

Name: Collateral Effects
Location: Milano, Italia
Year: 2002
Typology: Set design
Client: La Triennale di Milano

This installation was part of the temporary exhibition “Effetti Collaterali”, curated by Luca Molinari. The exhibition aimed to spark a dialogue between three photographers—Olivo Barbieri, Francesco Jodice, and Armin Linke—and three designers: Alessandro Scandurra, Cliostraat, and Stalker. For Olivo Barbieri’s photographs, Alessandro Scandurra designed an installation that complements the dense urban fabric captured in Barbieri’s work in China, spanning from the late 1980s. Scandurra created a “vision machine,” where light plays the dominant role. The space is defined by a narrow passage that leads visitors into a dark exhibition room. Inside, a system of suspended cylinders, vertical interlocking panels, and alternating glossy and matte black walls compress the environment, intensifying the impact of the urban imagery.

Triggered by motion sensors detecting the presence of a visitor, the lights shift from a soft yellow to a bright white for 15 seconds, fully revealing Barbieri’s photographs and enhancing the moment of discovery.

In a blinding flash, the photographer’s work is illuminated for the viewer, only to be swallowed once again by the surrounding darkness. This ongoing, shifting experience encourages viewers to slow down, as Barbieri’s work demands a deliberate pace to fully engage with it.