Emanuele Becheri was born in Prato in 1973. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence in 1995. His oeuvre pivots on drawing expressed through various techniques and media; his latest works often rely on video. Becheri has held several exhibitions both in Italy and abroad. Among his solo shows, may we recall: Hauntology at MAN, Nuoro (2013), Après coup at Museo Marino Marini, Florence (2009), and Time out of joint at PAC-Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Ferrara (2008). His works were also displayed at important group exhibitions, including La Magnifica Ossessione at MART, Rovereto (2013); Brightlight/Darklight at the American Academy, Rome (2012), And yet it moves at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Guarene (2009), and Nessuna Paura. L’arte dall’Italia dopo il 2000 at the Centre for Contemporary Art Luigi Pecci, Prato.

– title: Untitled (Shining) #28

– date: 2008

– medium: black photography backdrop, snail slime trails

– size: 100×70 cm

– description: Emanuele Becheri works on the concept of original and replica, thus challenging the idea of authorship. His extensive investigation dealing with the essence of an artist’s role, gradually eroding it, finds its apex in the Shining cycle. In Untitled (Shining)#28, the creative gesture is no longer the action ascribable to the author/artist, but the slime produced by some snails that are let to slither on the large black photography backdrops that keep track of their movements. These trails, which cannot be seen by the snails either, trace a drawing on the black paper, bringing to mind the marks left on carbon paper. The artwork therefore takes on the shape of a machine à dessiner – a drawing device – implying reflections on the theme of chance and loss of intentionality. Snails are placed on the support with a gesture reminiscent of the Surrealist coup de dés (throw of dice). On the other hand, though, their movement is not deliberate. The work Untitled (Shining)#28 was donated by Emanuele Becheri concomitantly with the Fabula Muta exhibit, curated by Saretto Cincinelli and held on 12 October-1 December 2013.