Lucy + Jorge Orta: Fabulae Romanae

An ambitious sculpture and video installation. Fabulae Romanae is a symbolic film excursion across Rome as seen through the eyes of ten ethereal spirits drawn from archaeological and historical research conducted by Lucy and Jorge Orta, and from observing the cultural and social map of the city. As the film unfolds, these contemporary sentinels silently take over the city: We encounter the traveler under the Castel Sant’Angelo bridge and in the Trastevere back streets; the observer overlooking the Sacro Cuore dei Monti and the Isola Tiberina; the tunneler and the myth maker in the Villa Gregoriana Park; and besides them we meet the flying man, the chariot rider, the memory man, and the bale maker. The scenarios these metaphorical characters enact are beautifully articulated through the verses of a poem written by Mario Petrucci, which was commissioned by the two artists for their video installation.