MARINA COLLARD
Encounters and Arrangements
Encounters
Based in Villa Torlonia, Rome, the park walls act as a container within which I walk, sit, witness and at times interact with the location, people and dogs. Captured in the present moment, or as memories or fantasies, the interactions, observations and associations reflect the character of the location, recreation and lives brought to the outdoors.
Observation and fantasies
The dog and the mask.
The sun is warming and the sky brilliant blue. The park is busy with people and dogs. People are on their own or having intense conversations or chatting about their next meal. Larger groups cluster and ramble at a slow pace while joggers seem to bypass them at speed. People with their dogs.... one dog ran through the gates of La Serra Moresca, the panicked owner calling and chasing. One man dropped his mask. When I stopped to tell him, he said he was delighted ‘cos it was one of the expensive ones.
Discarded jackets
It's sunny and the park is full of people. I felt like a witness rather than a participant and I looked for quiet corners. Walking in areas I don't usually go to, I came across discarded jackets, remnants from food and drink consumption. It was maybe a murder scene or a place where teenagers hang out, hidden, fumbling and passing time. Whatever it was, I was witness to the left- overs.
Pigs
While searching for things on the ground, an elderly man came over to me and said something about pigs. I looked up and he told me he was from Abruzzo and continued to tell me about pigs and the people collecting food to take back for their pigs.
He repeated these depictions of people foraging for their livestock with pride and intensity.
Arrangements
Villa Torlonia, Rome 2021
