Aríete
Partner: Casa das Artes Bissaya Barreto
Location: Portugal
2024
Ram :
– Tech. milit. et mar.: A machine of war consisting of a beam, one end of which was armed with a mass of metal originally representing a ram’s head and which was used by the ancients to overthrow the walls of besieged places, or in naval combat to breach the sides of ships:
– Metaphor: A powerful force capable of overturning a situation or imposing radical changes, favourable or harmful, on institutions, ideas, feelings, etc.
– Ram blow. Shock, violent attack caused by a physical or moral force.
With this installation, ETC questions the link between violence and housing, in Portugal as elsewhere, in contexts of peace as well as war: difficulties of access to housing, brutal evictions, military techniques of displacement through private buildings by destroying party walls, intrusions and illegal occupations of buildings to live there as the only recourse or as a political position.
Where does the violence come from? Who is doing it? Where can they find refuge?
Installation view. Group exhibition ‘bLast’, Casa das Artes Bissaya Barreto, Coimbra. 16 March - 18 May 2024.
The ram was built from elements found on site, including old doors and furniture from the house, reassembled and hung from the ceiling. The ‘bLast’ exhibition was organised just before the Casa das Artes closed for extensive renovation work.
