Name: Emilio Vavarella
From: Monfalcone, Italy
Trainee at: Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center (New York, NY)
Q: Tell us about one of your favorite projects you are working on.
Among many other projects on which I’m collaborating at Harvestworks, the one I want to talk about is a personal project that I started when I moved from Venice to New York. It’s called MEMORYSCAPES and it’s a multimedia installation, based on my research on memory, error, technology, subjectivity and virtuality. The project investigates how memory and reality affect one another, through notions of architecture and related mental images, resulting in a complex body of work. To carry out the project, I’m using Harvestworks’ computers and recording studio, with the support of audio engineer Kevin Ramsay for a series of interviews with Italian and Italian-Americans who I’ve met in NYC. At the end, I will produce a series of holograpich photographs that will present a 3D model of Venice, altered by the collective memory of the people I’ve interviewed. The project is also supported by the Jarach Gallery in Venice, so it truly represents a bridge between these two amazing islands: Manhattan and Venice, which I consider my two adoptive homes.
Q: What is your favorite place to go to in New York?
I love to walk along the Brooklyn Bridge at night, and look at the beautiful skyline while listening to music. I love working in Manhattan, and spending time at the art galleries in Chelsea, but I also love living in the peaceful and beautiful neighborhood of Fort Greene, where I can work and relax in silence.
Q: What is your favorite new food you have tried in the United States?
I love that I can find all the things I loved in the countries I’ve lived in over the last few years. If you spend some time and energy looking, you can find a perfect espresso or Turkish coffee, amazing Israeli rugelach … basically everything you can find in the rest of the world, but all in one place!
You can view Emilio’s work here.