Tulipomania [project]

Eleonora Roaro, “Tulipomania”
Five-channel video | 06’02”
1920 x 1080 HD 16:9
Music: Massimiliano Viel, “Danza (su una marca di J.B.Lully)”, performed by Icarus Ensemble + Lumen
Edition 3 + AP | 2015

“Tulipomania” is a video-installation which refers to a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulb of tulips skyrocketed and then suddenly collapsed. It consists of 5 videos (06’02’’ each) which run simultaneously on 5 monitors. The soundtrack, created by Massimiliano Viel and performed by the Icarus Ensemble, consists of a piece for eight instruments entitled “Dance (on a March of Jean-Baptiste Lully)”. Each video shows a tulip undergoing a process of transformation which modifies its initial condition. This alteration evokes the conceit of impermanence (mujo in Japanese), conveying the feeling that everything is changeable and ephemeral. This way the tulip, from a symbol of economical speculation, becomes an allegory of every value attribution and illusion.