Michele Papetti, born in Ravenna in 1991, after training in advertising graphics, lives and works in Longiano, in the hills of Cesena. His research and practice focus on often disorienting subjects, experimenting with a variety of techniques, including paper collage—his signature approach—as well as perforated wood, fabric embroidery, and video.
He has collaborated with numerous musicians, magazines, and brands, drawing inspiration from everyday life and play as an expressive and transformative space. His work is indeed influenced by themes related to childhood and decontextualized everyday objects, which stand out in his still lifes and create grotesque contrasts.
“FIONDO” and “IL COSTRUTTORE,” the two illustrations created for the off-festival, emerge from play understood as a free, instinctive gesture, with or without fixed rules.
In “FIONDO,” a child takes aim and shoots: the world is in the slingshot. The image is fast, tense, almost violent. The subject is captured a moment before the release: anything can happen.
“IL COSTRUTTORE” is the opposite: a child gathers pieces, builds, makes mistakes, and starts again. Forms grow, interlock, and become a kind of shelter or unstable structure.
The two works come together as two ways of engaging with play: one destroys, the other constructs. In between lie energy, attempts, and possibilities. The theme of recreation is explored as a space for making and unmaking.
