In his first solo exhibition ‘Vivavoce’, Davide Hjort Di Fabio explores the structure of memory and the way memories are formed, preserved and transformed over time.
Inspired by the words of Bell Hooks in the book Belonging: A Culture of Place, ‘We are born and have our being in a place of memory’, Di Fabio works with materials such as clay, recovered objects and photographs to highlight the body’s role as a living archive.
The exhibition, inaugurated in the presence of Italian Ambassador Stefania Rosini and open to the public until 13 September at the Italian Cultural Institute of Copenhagen, is based on the artist’s family history and the landscapes around the town of Popoli in central Italy. During World War II, the artist’s grandparents had to live in a mountain cave to escape the bombing of the town. Almost 80 years later, Di Fabio returned to the cave with his grandmother and documented their shared experience on video. The cave, once a place of refuge, now raises the question of what truly defines a home: is it the physical place or the emotions associated with it?
Davide Hjort Di Fabio (1990, Popoli) is an Italian artist living in Copenhagen, where he recently received a Master’s degree from the Academy of Fine Arts. He has exhibited in Denmark and internationally (Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Vejen Kunstmusem and Kunsthal Rønnebæksholm). In 2023 he was presented with the ‘Anne Marie Carl Nielsen’ talent award for sculptors.
