Rossella Biscotti

I dreamt that you changed into a cat… gatto… ha ha ha . 2013

Rossella Biscotti . + wilfried lentz

In this work, Rossella Biscotti focuses on the human condition and circumstances in detention. The idea of ‘total institution’ is of great importance for I dreamt that you changed into a cat…gatto…ha ha ha. In such institutions, persons and their needs are under full bureaucratic control, and undergo forms of self-abasement by social and physical abuse... Biscotti involved herself in such system, namely, the women’s prison on the Italian island Guidecca at the Venetian lagoon... As all prison cells are open, Biscotti was given the opportunity to meet every prisoner. This gave her the idea for a project within this project, that the functioning of the institution symbolizes: a compost heap. Dirt and remnants symbolize the work that has been done in the kitchen, cleaning, the growing of vegetables and consumption. In every prison cell, Biscotti placed an extra dustbin in which the prisoners waste specific bins, which is transformed into compost. This compost is thereafter used for the creating of sculptures.
wilfried lentz