How Enrico Minguzzi mapped emotion in 'Archipelago'

Over 107 petri dishes make up this meticulous installation

- By S. C. FOJAS

Italian artist Enrico Minguzzi transformed Altro Mondo Creative Space into a "speculative laboratory" that poetically maps the Philippines with his exhibit "Archipelago," running until Nov. 22.

At the heart of the exhibit lies the title piece, “Archipelago,” a floor installation composed of 107 petri dishes meticulously arranged to trace the outline of the Philippine island. Enrico explained that his initial draw to this theme was simply a surrender to his “own inclinations,” coupled with a long-held fascination with landscapes seen from above.

“They offer surprising visions, abstract paintings in themselves, perfectly balanced and providing an alternative way of seeing this,” Enrico states.

The work is a profound metaphor for unity forged from variety. Each petri dish, filled with pigments suspended in epoxy resin, represents a singular identity, an “island.” Yet, they are fundamentally connected.

“The metaphor I’ve tried to convey through this installation is that unity made up of different characteristics,” he explains. “There are no sharp divisions, and the whole landscape, the installation, becomes a multicolored gradient.”