LAURA GRISI

In Aristophanes’ celebrated masterpiece The Clouds, Socrates defined these celestial formations as "solemn Goddesses," entities capable of bestowing upon human beings thought, the art of dialectics, cunning, intellect, and loquacity, as well as the ability to grasp ideas and achieve one's goals.

Since that era, clouds have never ceased to capture the imagination of authors and artists, serving as a catalyst for experimentation and the birth of new expressive languages, while keeping their profound symbolic weight intact. Indeed, they serve as an allegory for emotional states and inner tensions, embodying vast concepts ranging from divine spirituality to temporal power, and from the realm of the afterlife to melancholy. Acting as a metaphor for the projections of our minds—through which earthly matters such as travel, desire, and the mystery of the unknown acquire a universal scope—clouds are transformed into an area of spiritual and cosmic contemplation, positioned exactly on the border between the visible and invisible worlds.

It is precisely within this context that XNL's original project, titled Oltre le nuvole / Beyond the Clouds, is set, running in Piacenza until July 5th. The initiative, curated by Chiara Gatti, Paola Pedrazzini, and Gianmarco Romiti in collaboration with the Storyville collective, explores the theme of the sky and its constant transformations, developing it through three pathways: an art exhibition, a theatrical program, and a sound itinerary.