PANOPTICON

The show represents a study on the concept of "total institutions" as termed by Erving Goffman. The Turin-born, Berlin-based artist conducted her research over nearly two decades.

The exhibition title references Jeremy Bentham's concept of the ideal Pr*son, from which a guard, stationed in a central watchtower can observe all inmates without their knowledge. This built-in system of control mirrors the conditions of individuals living in "total institutions," a term developed by Erving Goffman, which refers to places where people are actively isolated from broader societal interactions and their daily activities are strictly regulated by a central authority.

The retrospective features works from Vitari's major series, focusing on three instances of "total institutions."

● Percorsogalera (2007-09) explores the stories of inmates at the "Lorusso e Cutugno" penitentiary in Turin, Italy.

● Le città invisibili (2009-13) centers on the experiences of Radio Nikosia, an anti-psychiatry project based in Barcelona, Spain.

● Identità Interstiziali (2014 - ongoing) investigates the struggles of political refugees and asylum-seeking people in Berlin.

Vitari’s experimentation with materials reflects the need to find new communication tools. The use of glass renders this process transparent yet complex and multilayered, while the use of silk-screening allows the incorporation of the stories and sketches of those living in "total institutions." The glass objects are framed in iron structures, a cold, rigid material symbolizing the inflexibility that keeps individuals in these institutions detached from society. Social tensions are fixed in glass and exposed like a brutal social experiment.

Through large-scale installations that border on performative acts, the show "Panopticon" aims to shed light on marginalized, almost invisible people. Vitari's ethnographic, psychological, and sociological research, conducted through the study of the scientific literature, allowed her to frame the issues. She additionally spent years speaking with people at risk of exclusion to better understand issues related to mental health, incarceration, and migration.

Her works have been exhibited in Arts Santa Mònica (Barcelona), The Museum of Resistance (Turin), the Regional Natural Science Museum (Turin), the National Gallery of Sofia, and Le Nuove Museum (Turin), Palazzo Loredan in Venice.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue with texts by Raffaella De Chirico (gallerist and curator), Roberto Mastroianni (philosopher, anthropologist, and art critic), and Jennifer Fielding (historian and sociologist).

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin, Germany