The Stand-in Groom, Erik Kessels i PetriPaselli
10a edició del Festival Panoràmic
Between 1945 and 1976, more than 12,000 Italian couples married by proxy. Military service, imprisonment or restrictions on freedom of movement meant that, in many cases, one of the partners was unable to attend the wedding. The Stand-in Groom draws on the story of Mina, a woman from Bologna who, in 1961, at the age of 26, married Dario by proxy. Dario was in Eritrea, where he was working as a veterinarian. In the groom’s absence, his best friend, Franco, took his place during the ceremony.
A few days later, Mina travelled to Eritrea to reunite with Dario. She made the journey carrying her lace wedding dress inside a plastic bag. Their reunion was documented on colour film. The exhibition and its accompanying book, In Almost Every Picture 19, are the result of a collaboration between Dutch artist and curator Erik Kessels and the Italian duo PetriPaselli. Both have worked from Mina’s story and her proxy wedding.
ERIK KESSELS
Erik Kessels is a Dutch artist, curator and communication designer. Since 1996, he has been a creative partner at KesselsKramer and is known for his work with found photography and its recontextualisation. Throughout his career, he has published more than 100 books and developed projects such as Failed It! and Complete Amateur. He also teaches at art academies and has presented his work in exhibitions. His projects also include Europe Archive.
PETRIPASELLI
PetriPaselli is the duo formed by Luciano Paselli and Matteo Petri, born in Vergato, near Bologna, in 1983 and 1981, respectively. The duo was founded in 2007. Their artistic practice explores childhood and memory, both private and collective, through installation, video, photography and objects. The object occupies a central place in their work, which also makes use of decontextualisation.
