“Antivegetativa” – An Immersive Installation

A “Tiffany blue” painted pool floods the gallery space of Ex Elettrofonica in Rome, Italy. The paint seamlessly spreads across the floor and up the walls, only stopping at eye-level to reveal a collection of 19 canvases, a wooden chair, and a silver buoy. The installation, titled Antivegetativa (“anti-fouling paint” in Italian), is the work of conceptual Italian artist Davide D’elia. The installation is part of Delia’s Time Force series that “concentrates on deterioration and the transformation of life”. Like other pieces in the series, Antivegetativa is an immersive installation that questions the concepts of time through physical constructs. Delia first transforms the gallery through the materiality of the paint itself, and further construes the physicality of the space by introducing various found objects that are sealed off from any natural elements by the anti-fouling paint. The final piece questions the role of the paint purely as an expanse of color, or how it’s sealant properties will affect the objects its conceals over time. What is revealed, what is concealed, and what is left swimming in the painted pool.