Flags, rituals and symbols of power. A hypnotic exploration of the forces that bring us together and the boundaries that divide us.

Silvery-grey flags billows, stripped of colours, emblems and national symbols. Without the markers we usually associate with a flag, it opens itself to new meanings. Humans and flags appear as parts of the same anatomy. Through a series of unveilings and transformations, spectral figures emerge and the flag shifts in character. Gradually, connections are drawn between the flag and the shroud, between a symbol of belonging and a textile associated with death.

In AeReA, Ginevra Panzetti and Enrico Ticconi take the flag as their starting point, a symbol that throughout history has marked both belonging and separation, the distinction between an “us” and a “them”. The title itself contains a duality. Ara refers to the altar where sacrifices took place in ancient times, while AeReA refers to the flag’s airborne quality and the power it gains when hoisted and billowing in the air. Between these meanings, Panzetti and Ticconi explore how symbols can create a sense of belonging while also drawing boundaries between people.