However,
if on one hand synthetic molecules have exponentially multiplied crop
yields, shaping the contemporary idea of “food overproduction,”
on the other hand for the first time in history we are starting to
question the long-term effects of chemistry in agriculture.

The
identification of Endocrine disruptors1,
known as the active ingredients present in agricultural treatments
that can change the production of hormones and hence the “normal”
sexual development in complex organisms2,
has gradually caused a modification of human metabolism initiated by
the agro-pharmaceutical industry.

This
“interference,” when applied to predisposed individuals, has an
effective role in the redefinition of gender identity. Today we are
organisms with a modified biological rhythm and, ironically, we could
define ourselves no longer as men, women, or even hybrid entities,
but as transsexuals in the most technical and anti-rhetorical meaning
of the term.

At
the same time, sterility is setting up to be a significant problem in
the Western world, and the social motivations alone are not
sufficient to explain the impressive population growth imbalance on
the planet. Once again, this difference resembles witchcraft. More
likely, the real reasons for these changes are in the exposure to
mutagenic agents, which are modifying the chemical structure of our
bodies, working on human biology itself.

In
this new project, Luca Francesconi’s analysis avoids a simplistic
demonization of scientific progress and a utopian “return to the
past.” The artist’s investigation, starting from the ground-up,
does not want to be a laboratory experiment aimed to reach an
objective and universal conclusion. Instead, questioning
eschatological faith in the progress, Francesconi tries to show the
complexities and contradictions generated by the transposition of
agriculturaland food models in an “other” context.

1
Endocrine
disruptors, sometimes also referred to as endocrine
disrupting compounds,
are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormonal)
systems. These disruptions can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects,
and other developmental disorders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_disruptor

2
Endocrine‐disrupting
compounds have the potential to perturb sensitive hormone pathways
that regulate reproductive functions. In fish, this may result in
decreased fertility and egg production in females, and reduced gonad
size or feminization of geneticmale fish. In: Lisa D. Arcand-Hoy e
William H. Benson,
Fish reproduction: An ecologically relevant indicator of endocrine
disruption,
2009 https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.5620170108

Luca
Francesconi (Mantova,
1979) lives and works in Mantova (IT).He has partecipated in numerous
exhibitions in public and private spaces such as: Fondazione Ratti
-Como (2000), Biennale di Tirana -Tirana (2001), Fuori Uso -Pescara
(2004), Galleria Civica di Trento -Trento (2004), Cristina Guerra
Gallery -Lisbon (2006), Maison Populaire -Montreuil (2007), Palais de
Tokyo -Paris (2009), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo -Turin, Crac
Alsace -Altkirch,Magasin -Grenoble, Fluxia -Milan (2010), Mot
-Bruxelles, Chez Valentin -Paris (2011), Musées de Montbéliard
-Montbéliard, Arte Nova-Art Basel -Miami (2012), Man -Nuoro, Museo
Marino Marini -Florence (2013), Shanaynay -Paris (2014), Tonus
-Paris, Museo Riso -Palermo, Kunsthalle Lissabon -Lisbon
(2015),JupiterWoods -London, Tunnel Tunnel -Losanne (2016), une, une,
une with Miriam Cahn -Perpignan, Spazio Maria Calderara with Vettor
Pisani -Milan (2017), 67 Steps -Los Angeles (2018), Palazzo delle
Esposizioni -Rome (2019). In 2009 he won the “Illy
Present / Future”
with the gallery Umberto Di Marino, awarded by Alexis Vaillant,
Hans-Ulrich Obrist e Jens Hoffman, during Artissima, Turin.In 2011
has been invited by Bice Curiger at “Illumination“,
54th Venice BiennialIn 2014 Giovanni Carmine, the director of
Kunsthalle Sant Gallen, and Alexis Vaillant, chief curator of
CAPC-Bordeaux invited him at the section“THENnow”
of
the Miart
fair,
with a project realized in collaboration with JimmieDurham.In 2016 he
patecipated inXXV edition of Premio
Nazionale Arti Visive Città di Gallarate,Museo
MAGA.In 2020 he was part of AGAINandAGAINandAGAINand,
a group show curated by Lorenzo Balbi at MAMbo, Bologna. In 2021 he
will realize his first solo show at Galeria Pedro Cera –Lisbon and
a new project at Museo Burel -Belluno

Between
2008 and 2010 he has co-directed Brown
project space in Milano.He actively works with Umberto Di Marino Gallery since 2006,
realizing three solo shows: A
naked tree and some other works (2006),Calendario
delle Semine (2009)
andpane
pane pane vino canale di scolo,
curated by Jason Hwang (2014).