Week 30, Barbara Sbrocca

"BACI SOSPESI"

I am Barbara Sbrocca, I am Italian and I live in Ostia, the seaside part of Rome. I am a self-thought artist, I create with different media and in several forms (painting, sculpting creating furniture and jewelry, writing, podcasting), since 2001. I am the author of several publications. "Umano come me" (edited in 2007) is my first book that includes a selection of paintings (2001-2007) and some of my poems. In June 2020, I launched my "Baci Sospesi" (Suspended Kisses*) project. It's based on site-specific installations + audio portraits, and it's my research about the human transformative moments that come from love and separations experiences.

The first "Baci Sospesi" installation is a wood+steel 3 mt tall piece, inaugurated in August 2020 on the seafront of Passoscuro, a village north of Rome. In the video you see a miniature of it.

The second site-specific Installation for Baci Sospesi is in Pioraco (MC), Italy. In 2021, I received honorary citizenship from Mateo Cicconi, the Major of Pioraco because of my site-specific Baci Sospesi for Pioraco installation, which is now part of the permanent collection in the local "Polo museale".

All the audio portraits recorded so far with people from several countries are available on www.sbrocca.com and on SoundCloud. All recordings are audio only, and you will listen to how powerful life stories can be, and how strongly we are deeply connected, despite our cultural differences, by the need for connection.

*Baci Sospesi literally means suspended or hanging kisses, but its real meaning derives from a beautiful tradition of southern Italy, the "Caffè Sospeso" which is about paying in advance a coffee for a stranger, a gesture of kindness. So Baci Sospesi is about offering in advance "baci" (messages and love stories) for strangers. All my installations are made in a way that people can leave paper messages, poems, drawings etc. for strangers passing by. It's a simple yet powerful way to touch unknown people and spread love around.

On Baci Sospesi FB page you can see some of the messages left on the installations so far.