Wherever. In the Beginning, It Was an Island.

“To desire is to construct a chain, to build a whole.”
Gilles Deleuze, Abécédaire.

We don’t just desire an object, but a set of interconnected elements, giving rise to an imaginary.

“Wherever. In the Beginning, It Was an Island.” is a mixed-media installation that explores the relationship between landscape, the sense of belonging, and affection, blending personal and collective narratives.

I use the landscape as a pretext to stimulate and reveal the underlying imagery and, ultimately, our emotional bonds that transcend physical territory.

Rooted in a reflection on my own origins as an islander from Sicily, I interweave my story with those of people I’ve encountered elsewhere — Sicilian immigrants in Belgium, inhabitants of Menorca, and individuals from diverse backgrounds in Hokkaido — to explore the construction of “places of affection,” both real and imagined.

At the heart of the installation is an audiovisual piece created through guided visualizations, in which participants respond to the question: “Where would you like to be, right now, if just teleportation were possible?”
Their answers are transformed into sound-based landscape descriptions, recorded with the precision of mental photographs.

These audio descriptions of “places of affection” function as ekphrases: verbal representations that evoke an impossible image, yet one capable of activating the imagination and allowing the listener to reconstruct landscapes through experience.

The work is complemented by a photographic sculpture made of a found wooden pole and a fabric-printed image — a sea view in the process of unraveling.
It also features portraits of S., a Sicilian girl whose micro-movements were captured in a brief time-lapse, in the act of imagining. She has a tattoo of the Trinacria on her back — a symbol of Sicilian geography and mythology.

The installation, designed to evolve with each exhibition space, has been presented in different versions and also includes other photos, as documentation of the process.

“Wherever. In the Beginning, It Was an Island.” at Floating Projects, Hong Kong (2024).

“Wherever. In the Beginning, It Was an Island.” at Floating Projects, Hong Kong (2024).

Detail of the photographic sculpture within the site-specific installation.

Triptych of portraits of S. with mansonia wood frames

Wall projection of the first part of the video at a larger scale.

Wall projection of the second part of the video, at a smaller scale.

“Wherever. In the Beginning, It Was an Island.” – Exhibition at Floating Projects, Hong Kong (2024)
Exhibition by Silvia Renda in collaboration with Florence Lee, Harry Tsang, and Elaine Wong. Curated by Jamsen Law of nProjekt (Hong Kong), in partnership with Tangent Projects (Barcelona).

“Wherever. In the Beginning, It Was an Island.” Two-channel video – 2024, third edition with English subtitles.
Original languages: Italian, Japanese, English, Catalan/Menorcan.
Duration: 13:35’(Part 1) – 18:48’(Part 2) – Continuous wall projection.
16:9 – 1920×1080 – Stereo 48000 Hz, with headphones.

“Melting sea” – Photographic sculpture – 2024,  serie: 2/2
Wooden pole; Digital photograph printed on cupro silk fabric.

“S., Triptych” – 2024, editon: 1/3
Medium format analogue photograph printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag.

“A tot arreu. Al principi era una illa.” – Sala Sant Antoni, Maó, Menorca (2024)

“A tot arreu. Al principi era una illa.” Sala Sant Antoni, Maó, Menorca (2024)

Photo sculpture at  Sala Sant Antoni, Maó, Menorca (2024)

Detail of the photo sculpture. Photo: Paula Jaume Sanchez

“A tot arreu. Al principi era una illa.” – Sala Sant Antoni, Maó, Menorca (2024)
Exhibition “(ILLA) o els sis visions de la insularitat”, as part of the Menorca Doc Fest, featuring Cristina González, Silvia Renda, Elena Aya Bundurakis, Marco Loi, Sergio Monje and ONiON collective.

“A tot arreu. Al principi era una illa.” – Single-channel video – 2024, second edition with with Catalan subtitles.
Original languages: Italian, Japanese, English, Catalan/Menorcan.
Duration: 32:30’ – Continuous wall projection.
16:9 – 1920×1080 – Stereo 48000 Hz, with headphones.

“Melting sea” – Photographic sculpture – 2024,  serie: 1/2
Wooden pole; Digital photograph printed on cupro silk fabric.
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The long-term project was developed between 2015 and 2024, during the during residencies at Es Far Cultural (Menorca), Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio (Sapporo, JP) and Maison Bergamini (Brussels).

Work produced thanks to the support of: Tangent Projects, nProjekt, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Es Far Cultural, Menorca Doc Fest 2024

Translations: Laura Baró, Stephen Davison, Ciceró Pasqual Cardona
Sound editing: Carlos Vásquez Méndez
Carpentry: Virginia Expósito
Textile printing: Stockstextiles, Barcelona
Photo printing: Impressionart, Barcelona
Photo framing: Frames & Co., Barcelona