Quasi Nessuno transforms the rice field into a landscape of fragile presences. Between nature, memory, and climate change, the scarecrow becomes a metaphor for the human condition.
A territory increasingly uninhabited by bodies and ever more traversed by stories. Who inhabits these places? Almost no one.
Less and less inhabited by bodies and more and more crossed by narratives, this agricultural landscape preserves traces of vanished communities—voices that seem to echo behind the hills, cycles of water that appear and disappear, the flight of herons measuring time.
For the 2023 season, the intervention extends beyond the boundaries of a single architectural structure to act directly within the natural landscape. The rice field becomes both a field of action and a field of observation: an open, vast, generous space, yet also a fragile one.
Who inhabits these places, beyond the fauna?
The mirage of a man in the contemporary agricultural landscape.
The project reflects on the gradual fading of the human figure within the contemporary agricultural landscape. An isolated presence, increasingly intermittent, fragile like the other species that share the same territory and are subject to the effects of climate change, drought, and the disruption of natural cycles.
Within this scenario emerges the idea of the “mirage of a man”: a figure that appears and disappears, no longer dominating the landscape but dissolving into it.
The rice field thus becomes a suspended, almost fairytale-like universe. Between mist and water, silent presences emerge: a group of scarecrows scattered across the space, like extras in a motionless scene.
A community of scarecrows as a metaphor for fragile presence.
The project reflects on the gradual fading of the human figure within the contemporary agricultural landscape. An isolated presence, increasingly intermittent, fragile like the other species that share the same territory and are affected by climate change, drought, and the disruption of natural cycles. Within this scenario emerges the idea of the “mirage of a man”: a figure that appears and disappears, no longer dominating the landscape but merging with it.
The rice field thus becomes a suspended, almost fairytale-like universe. Between mist and water, silent presences surface: a community of scarecrows scattered across the space, like extras in a motionless scene.
A project that embraces time, observes the seasons, and questions transformation.
Through collaboration with photographer Delfino Sisto Legnani and a dialogue with the territory, the intervention takes shape as a shared process. Not an isolated object, but a gesture that becomes embedded in the landscape, amplifying its questions.
Artist / Matilde Cassani
Matilde Cassani works at the intersection of architecture, exhibition design, and artistic practice.
Her research explores the spatial implications of cultural pluralism in the contemporary Western city, observing how identities, rituals, and differences take shape in public space.
Curator / Paola Nicolin
Paola Nicolin lavora tra ricerca storico-artistica, pratica curatoriale e progettazione editoriale.
La sua attività si sviluppa tra istituzioni culturali, università e progetti espositivi, con particolare attenzione alle relazioni tra arte contemporanea, educazione e produzione di conoscenza.