Artist: Elisa Giardina Papa

She Flickered In and Out of History is a new video and mixed-media installation by interdisciplinary artist Elisa Giardina Papa (b. Italy; lives and works in New York, U.S., and Sant’Ignazio, Sicily) that tells the story of a Mediterranean island that emerged from the sea, sparked a colonial scramble, and vanished before anyone could claim it.

In 1831, an underwater volcanic eruption gave rise to a new landform between Tunisia and Sicily, sparking a violent sovereignty dispute among European powers. Six months later, the island vanished beneath the surface. She Flickered In and Out of History  explores the geological, mythological and political temporalities of the Mediterranean through the historical and speculative story of this island that refused to be annexed.

Giardina Papa filmed the work on Mount Etna, Stromboli, and along the submerged slopes of the Mediterranean volcanic islands. It is presented on a large, free-standing LED screen, alongside a series of sculptures and photographs. A poem, spoken in Sicilian and set to an original score by New York-based composer duendita, threads through the visual narrative, weaving together historical records with reflections on decolonial and queer temporalities. The poem, composed by Megan Fernandes from Giardina Papa’s film script and archival research, lyrically deliberates on the island’s eruptive emergence and subsequent refusal.

Sculptures made from hand-shaped glass and cotisso, a raw, unstable glass traditionally destined for remelting in Murano furnaces, materialise another strand of the island’s story. In deep, saturated hues, they embody the last stanza of the poem, which draws on historical observations of the altered colour of the sun following the 1831 underwater eruption. Caused by the release of volcanic particles and sulphur aerosols into the atmosphere, observers from the Mediterranean to the Middle East and the Caribbean reported seeing blue, green, and purple suns.

Following U Scantu: A Disorderly Tale (2022), which premiered at the 59th Venice Biennale, She Flickered In and Out of History forms part of a trilogy of video installations exploring forgotten Mediterranean histories. It is Giardina Papa’s newest body of work in her ongoing investigation into forms of knowledge and desire that have been lost or neglected.

Exhibition design by 2050+ (Sara Barbini, Francesca Lantieri, Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli).

The exhibition at ICA is generously supported by the Christian Levett Collection and Musée FAMM Mougins.

The project is supported by the Italian Council programme (2024), promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture; the Bogotá Museum of Modern Art (MAMBO); the Malcolm S. Forbes Center for Culture & Media Studies, Department of Modern Culture and Media, Brown University; the Humanities Research Fund, Brown University; MACTE, Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Termoli; the Italian Cultural Institute in London; and Michele Cristella.