How red those petals are! They are like stains of blood… on the tablecloth.
It is not wise to find symbols in everything you see. It makes life too full of fears.
It was better to say that: stains of blood… are as lovely as… rose-petals. Carmelo Bene – Salomè, 1972
Alessandro Di Massimo is a cross-disciplinary artist based in Teramo. His practice combines installation, drawing, wall painting, sculpture and video exploring issues of every day life, political conflicts, human behaviours and relationships. In this process, Alessandro deconstructs iconic cultural imagery as a form of critique and analysis.
Di Massimo employs popular songs, films, flags, maps, art history and historical archives as a founding material for his work developed to expose the flaws of societal constructs and provoking dialogue around the power of common images, symbols and iconographies in the contemporary.
Images play a pivotal role in today’s society nevertheless, the narrations inhabiting them are often overlooked. Di Massimo uses his work to highjack the communicative process and to employ its unexpressed potential. Is there anything else that images can tell? Is there anything else that can be told about images?
Alessandro Di Massimo lived and worked in Rome for over a decade and while studying at the Accademia Di Belle Arti Set Design department he moved his first steps in the underground scene of the city. Street-art, fanzines and political turmoil played an important role in his formative years. After graduating he traveled around Europe and lived in Edinburgh until 2020. He currently lives and works in Teramo. Alessandro’s work has been exhibited in Italy, United Kingdom, Poland, Spain and in other European countries. Recent shows include: Cramum Art Prize, Villa Bagatti Valsedo, Milan; The Rise and Fall of Your Chosen Empire, Ltd Ink Corporation, Edinburgh (solo); Acies at The Number Shop, Edinburgh (solo); Refraction at 24hourswindow, Glasgow International; Whole World Working (W.W.W.) at Collective Gallery, Edinburgh. From 2021 Alessandro runs the curatorial project Celeste along with Claudia Petraroli.
