The exhibition Haunting Spells. Fare mondi altrimenti (Worlding otherwise) originates from the work of Claudio Costa (1942–1995), an internationally significant artist whose practice was deeply rooted in anthropological inquiry, drawing from fields such as paleontology, mythology, and alchemy. His concept of work in regress functions here as a counter-temporal gesture – an excavation in reverse into the depths of myth and matter, standing in stark contrast to the ideology of linear, productive progress. Building upon Costa’s legacy – now being actively preserved and valorized through the historical archive and by C+N Gallery CANEPANERI – the project unfolds as a constellation of contemporary voices.
Alongside Costa, the works of Alessandro Di Lorenzo (1997), Peng Shuai Paolo (1995), Sofia Salazar Rosales (1999), Stefano Serretta (1987), and Ginevra Petrozzi (1997) – artists from diverse backgrounds and lineages – collectively articulate an anthropological horizon that moves beyond mere observation or representation of the “other.” These practices reactivate submerged rituals, dislocated memories, magical knowledge, and modes of contact that resist the rationalization of the world. In a time marked by a crisis of presence – a condition that has evolved from diagnosis to daily reality – these works do not seek to resolve or repair but instead inhabit the fracture. They summon spirits, evoke absences, and propose ways of worlding otherwise.
The exhibition title alludes, on one hand, to haunting: the spectral return of that which history has left unsaid or unresolved; and on the other, to spells: transformative acts capable of symbolically altering reality. Worlding Otherwise draws on the notion of the crisis of presence (Ernesto De Martino), identifying artistic practices as potential spaces for transformation in response to the symbolic, social, and political erasure of individuals and communities.
Through archival materials, site-specific installations, sculptures, and visual devices that tap into ritual practices, rural memory, queer subjectivities, and counter-hegemonic historical narratives, Haunting Spells. Fare mondi altrimenti reflects on the urgency of reclaiming art – not as an act of individual freedom, but as a vital means of engaging in the emergencies of our time. It explores how art can become a tool for worlding – the creative act of imagining and shaping possible futures.
Several works in the exhibition are being shown to the Milanese public for the first time. Among them are pieces by Alessandro Di Lorenzo, developed during a residency at CASTRO in Rome, and by Stefano Serretta, created during a residency at Tiresia in collaboration with Aldo Mieli Documentation Center, engaging with themes of corporeal politics and representation. Also on view is a new site-specific installation by Peng Shuai Paolo, and Milan debut of selected works by Ginevra Petrozzi.