FestiWall

Ragusa, Sicily, Italy,
2017

Completed Work for FestiWall. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Guido van Helten

1—2

Commissioned for the 2017 FestiWall public art festival, this painting is located in the small regional city of Ragusa, Sicily, at a site known as the ‘Marsala' – a local meeting place, hangout, and hideout for the city’s youth.

Photographs by Guido van Helten & Marcello Bocchieri

Project Details
Project
FestiWall
Location
Ragusa, Sicily, Italy
Commissioner
FestiWall

Guido van Helten - L’attesa - (The Wait). Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Shot and Edited: Vincenzo Cascone

Located at the back of the high school Liceo Classico Umberto Primo, on face value the ‘Marsala’ is an assuming neighbourhood square – concrete steps, benches, a few trees. But for the local ragusani the site and its title are synonymous with young adulthood, the backdrop to everyday adolescent life. The external staircase that zigzags the back of the school building has been subverted through an sociological adaptation over the years, with the multi-levelled floors and stairs used for seating, chatting, smoking cigarettes, and an informal meeting place for extra-curricular activities.

Spray paint workshop with 'Terza B' - graduating class from Liceo Umberto Classico I. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

Student from Liceo Umberto Classico I writes at the Marsala. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Guido van Helten

The energy of this place is generational and ingrained, a location where teenagers and young people have met daily to play music, talk and hang out. As one of the young guys [I met] told me: ‘This is the only place in Ragusa where we can meet and be together.’1

Guido van Helten worked with the school’s graduating class of Terza B to develop the mural design. The students modelled for reference subjects, and were then invited to add their own signatures to the layers of existing graffiti at the base of the artwork. For van Helten it was important to include the young people in the project, because ‘that’s their space.’2 As a symbol of claiming their ownership of the space, this act not only succeeded at blending into the existing aesthetic character of the area, but also embodies the sentiment of the ‘Marsala’ and its unofficial meaning in Ragusa, Sicily.

The title of the work, L'attesa (The Wait), reflects on the moods and emotions evident in everyday adolescence – the fluctuations of anxiety and anticipation felt at this time of life.

Guido van Helten and Vincenzo Cascone direct a workshop with Liceo Umberto Classico I. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

They all say the same thing. The waiting in itself is the pleasure. . . Because while waiting you can feel not only the sensation of what you are going to discover later, you can also feel all the sensations – maybe the fear of not making it, the hope that everything goes well, or maybe a better expectation of whatever will be. During the wait you can feel all these sensations and to imagine them.3

Guido van Helten and Vincenzo Cascone direct Liceo Umberto Classico I - addition to the Marsala. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

Students from Liceo Umberto Classico I addition to the Marsala. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Guido van Helten

1—2

Work begins at the Marsala. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

Work in progress at the Marsala. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

Work in progress from the steps of the Marsala. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

Work in progress at the Marsala. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

Integration of student graffiti - mural detail. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

Work in progress at the Marsala. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

Finished work at the Liceo Umberto Classico I. Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. October 2017 Photograph: Marcello Bocchieri

Utopia

Grenoble, France, 2022

Completed for Grenoble Street Art Festival in October 2022.

L'eau - Martigny

Martigny, Switzerland, 2021

The concept explores a site-specific story relating to the Water...

Monuments Project - Minnesota

Mankato, Minnesota, 2020

Minnesota’s largest mural, this artwork is installed at the Ardent...

Monuments Project - Iowa

Fort Dodge, Iowa, 2018

The largest mural in the state of Iowa, this 360-degree mural on...

The Gods of Dharavi

Mumbai, India, 2017

A collaborative concept with the Slum Gods crew - developed on...

FestiWall

Ragusa, Sicily, Italy, 2017

Commissioned for the 2017 FestiWall public art festival, this...

Coonalpyn

Coonalpyn, South Australia, 2017

Commissioned by Coorong District Council at the Viterra active...

Frontline

Avdeevka, Ukraine, 2016

Painted for Art United Us project in the front line town of...

Mexicable Project, Part I

Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico , 2016

Part of a series commissioned by Konect1 to launch the Mexicable...

Crystal Ship

Oostende, Belgium, 2016

Painted for the first edition of The Crystal Ship arts festival in...

Brim Silo Project

Brim, Victoria, Australia, 2016

The Brim silo project undertaken by Guido van Helten & Juddy Roller...

Last meal on Halvmåneøya

Svalbard, Norway, 2015

Titled Last meal on Halvmåneøya (Half Moon Island) this work was...

Wall to Wall Festival

Benalla, Victoria, 2015

This work explores the use of old photographs in the modern...

Akureyravaka

Akureyri, Iceland, 2014

'Painted for Akureyrarvaka Menningarnótt (culture night) in 2014...