SANTA LUCIA

Site-specific sound performance-Installation

In Collaboration with singer Anne Lillis

Matera, Southern Italy

SANTA LUCIA

SIMONE COUTO

Site-Specific Sound Performance Installation In Collaboration with Singer Anne Lillis

In Matera, Southern Italy, artist Simone Couto collaborates with singer Anne Lillis to present an immersive sound performance and installation. This site-specific piece explores the interconnectedness between humans and nature, focusing on our subjectivity and imagination about the environment—not as a romantic escape but as a means to deepen our consciousness.

The durational performance occurs in an ancient dry well in Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In this setting, Couto is blindfolded, holding two candles and remaining still. Matera is located in Southern Italy's Basilicata region and features an advanced rainwater collection system consisting of a complex network of tunnels and cisterns carved into the rock. This town is positioned near the Gravina strea m, which has shaped the landscape over centuries, dating back to the Paleolithic era. The water channels and cisterns, constructed by early inhabitants, highlight the critical importance of water supply in this region.

The performance, "Santa Lucia," pays homage to a 4th-century martyr, Saint Lucy. She suffered during the Diocletian persecution and, according to legend, had her eyes gouged out before her death. Yet, when her body was prepared for burial, her eyes were miraculously restored. Dante references her in "Inferno Canto II," where she serves as his guide through Hell and Purgatory. This influential figure adds a poignant element to the performance, emphasizing the timeless presence of human imagination and spirituality in the natural world.