Dear Lucy

Performance / Collaboration

Dear Lucy is an ongoing performative and installation-based project developed in collaboration with performer Rilaben, originating from a collection of letters written by his grandfather during the Italian colonial occupation of Ethiopia and preserved within the family archive.

Through performances, installations, video, sound, and temporary spatial configurations, the project unfolds as an expansive montage where personal memories intersect with broader historical and material narratives, bringing together colonial medicine, paleoanthropology, organic and inorganic matter, embodied memory, past and future.

The project was developed through multiple production phases between Italy, Austria, and Germany, produced by Fosca with the support of Regione Toscana, Kunstraum Lakeside, and Lake Studios Berlin. Additional support was provided by MAD – Murate Art District, the Affect and Colonialism Network at Freie Universität Berlin, and the Multimedia Lab Dr. G.A. L’Abbate at the University of Pisa. In collaboration with the Multimedia Lab, the project also expanded through the development of a series of digital materials, including an online platform, archival documents, and educational resources connected to the history of Italian colonialism and the broader research framework of the work.

Resources: Video Introduction; Letters; Longform