SPOSATI, Camila
Stone theatre

Anatomical Theatre of the Earth was a wooden construction based on the form of a small circular arena with the stage in the center and around it the seats for the audience watching the scenic performances. In form and concept it referred to the Renaissance amphitheaters where the first dissections of human and animal corpses, in front of curious and astonished looks, took place. The theatre was however not built on the ground, but excavated in it to a depth of nearly six meters, behind the still standing façade of a colonial house in ruin, on the island of Itaparica, next to Salvador. Sposati intended not only to create a space for theatrical experiences, but also - and above all - a framework that would lead the public to leave the surface of the world and down, literally, into the immemorial depths of the Earth’s inside.

Stone Theatre records the long and troubled history of the construction of the Anatomical Theatre of the Earth by the artist Camila Sposati during the 3rd Biennial of Bahia (2014). Placing the project in relation to earlier research and works, Stone Theatre brings out the specificity of the artist’s thought and gives a comprehensive introduction to Sposati’s layered practice.

Edited by Falke Pisano, Marcelo Rezende and Camila Sposati
Design: Åbäke
With essays by Camila Sposati, Falke Pisano, Frédérick Keck, Marcelo Rezende, Paulo Rosenbaum and interviews with Andrea Sella and Juraci Dórea.

Published by Revolver, 2016
Design by Åbäke
Artists' Books / Exhibition Catalogues