An army of 46 sculptures featuring gnome heads on the bodies of the terracotta warriors of Xi’an will arrive in Salerno as part of Max Papeschi’s “Extinction” project. Arranged in a fan-shaped formation facing the sea, the installation aims to turn the imagery of war into a statement for peace.
The exhibition will be inaugurated on November 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the Casa del Combattente on Lungomare Trieste, as part of the Luci d’Artista program. Curated by Stefania Morici and Antonio Calbi, it will remain open until April 4, 2027. The Salerno edition features a new layout designed by architect Giovanni Musica of MGAlab, along with three new illuminated works created in collaboration with Quadruslight.
The central work, “Zwergen Dämmerung,” revisits military iconography in an ironic and irreverent way. Although the figures appear uniform and monumental, the contrast between their gnome heads and warrior bodies challenges the authority and discipline traditionally associated with armies.
The project is based on a provocative premise: humanity has become extinct, and an extraterrestrial civilization is trying to reconstruct its history from fragments and archaeological remains. The resulting distorted interpretations provide a reflection on symbols of power, war and the contradictions of contemporary society.
In Salerno, the sculptures will not follow a conventional military formation. Instead, they will open toward the Mediterranean, overturning the logic of a battlefield and turning the square into what the curators describe as an agora of peace. Morici and Calbi said the city’s connections with memory, hospitality and culture make it a meaningful setting for the project.
Morici said the installation is intended to oppose war, cultural barbarism and ignorance, while presenting art as a possible direction toward hope. Calbi, who is also director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, said the work underlines the destruction and suffering caused by armed conflicts and the need to restore dialogue as an instrument of international diplomacy.
The exhibition is being presented with the patronage of the Municipality of Salerno and the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris.
Sources: ANSA Cultura.