Great Parlament of Instincs | exhibition and performance

From Feb. 1 to March 8, 2025, the exhibition spaces of Villa Davia (Pontecchio Marconi) will host the exhibition “The Great Parliament of Instincts,” curated by Spazio relativo & Studio Yoshida. The exhibition, accompanied by workshops and performances, is part of the program of Art City Bologna 2025. 

The exhibition revolves around the theme of rituality and is the outcome of multifaceted research, capturing various aspects of it that emerge in the contemporary. The event takes shape from a plurality of languages. In the exhibition, ritual is investigated through the experience of the body, the object, real and/or imaginary. The thematic investigation takes its cue from some theories of ethologist Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989) concerning, in particular, aggression. Exemplifying the phenomenon that some animals, in order to avoid killing within the herd, practice ritual movements similar to the act of aggression. These behaviors seem important to us to show, not only how a ritual form does not belong solely to human expression, but how it is necessary to balance strong instincts of aggression and death. Tracing the ritual dimension seems to us an urgent response to the vicissitudes of this age. The exhibition investigates today's intrinsic need for ritual in the artistic and contemporary dimensions.