De Rebus Sardois presents Isole dell’Altrove -Islands of Elsewhere, a project that imagines “elsewhere” as a symbolic and imaginative horizon: an alternate space where unexplored possibilities, new imaginaries, and experimentation take shape.
Through contemporary art, two Sardinian islands become sites of renewed visions, suspended between historical memory and possible futures. Supported by the Fondazione di Sardegna, the Coastal Conservancy Agency, and the Asinara National Park, the initiative transforms abandoned places into open laboratories for artistic experimentation through installations, workshops, and participatory practices.
Through contemporary art, two Sardinian islands become sites of renewed visions, suspended between historical memory and possible futures. Supported by the Fondazione di Sardegna, the Coastal Conservancy Agency, and the Asinara National Park, the initiative transforms abandoned places into open laboratories for artistic experimentation through installations, workshops, and participatory practices.
Artist Alessandro Vizzini will carry out a site-specific investigation that goes beyond the landscape, taking the form of a true psycho-geographical crossing. His research will engage with neglected or marginal sites where natural and built elements coexist in a fragile and evocative balance. Through an immersive process of sensitive observation, material manipulation, and listening to the territory, Vizzini will develop a body of site-specific sculptures. These works will articulate a visual narrative suspended between experience, time, and imagination—where the artwork becomes an extension of the landscape itself.
The first intervention will take place at the Mangiabarche open-air art gallery in Calasetta, on the island of Sant’Antioco—now in a state of abandonment. A former military fort, the site was reimagined in 2012 by Beyond Entropy Ltd in collaboration with the MACC Foundation and the Sardinian Coastal Conservancy, as a roofless exhibition space. The architectural gesture broke with the traditional idea of a gallery as a neutral and sterile container, offering instead an environment where artworks were exposed to the elements and the passage of time. In this context, the work did not suffer time—it inhabited it.
The second intervention will take place in the chapel of the Austro-Hungarian cemetery in Fornelli, in the southern part of the island of Asinara. The only surviving structure of a WWI prisoner-of-war camp, the chapel embodies a fragile and submerged memory, which the artist will reactivate through his work.
The first intervention will take place at the Mangiabarche open-air art gallery in Calasetta, on the island of Sant’Antioco—now in a state of abandonment. A former military fort, the site was reimagined in 2012 by Beyond Entropy Ltd in collaboration with the MACC Foundation and the Sardinian Coastal Conservancy, as a roofless exhibition space. The architectural gesture broke with the traditional idea of a gallery as a neutral and sterile container, offering instead an environment where artworks were exposed to the elements and the passage of time. In this context, the work did not suffer time—it inhabited it.
The second intervention will take place in the chapel of the Austro-Hungarian cemetery in Fornelli, in the southern part of the island of Asinara. The only surviving structure of a WWI prisoner-of-war camp, the chapel embodies a fragile and submerged memory, which the artist will reactivate through his work.
Photography Workshop – Sant’Antioco, 26–27 July 2025
Film, digital, and darkroom printingCurated by Collectif Phosphore (Sarah Witt and Matthieu Fares) and Ottovolante Sulcis, in collaboration with MuseoDiffuso.exe.
Two days of exploration between analog and digital photography, with shooting sessions, darkroom development, editing, and final presentation. A path of reflection on regeneration through image, landscape, and memory.
This workshop invites participants to approach the island of Sant’Antioco with a sensitive and thoughtful gaze—through its historical and military heritage, coastal landscapes, and forgotten architectures.
The core of the workshop is an exploration of regeneration—not as a return to the past, but as a movement toward the future. What can these forgotten places become? What memory do they hold, and how might they welcome new uses, new lives? These architectures, anchored in the rock and in dialogue with the Mediterranean, testify to a constructive intelligence and a deep relationship with the land. They are also potential supports for contemporary transformation—one that favors reinvention over demolition.
Through photography, the workshop proposes the creation of a collective narrative, revealing these spaces through personal approaches: documentary, narrative, poetic, or experimental. Participants will be invited to choose one or more sites to explore and photograph. Through framing, perspective, and contrast, they will construct both personal and collective narratives—a story in motion, just like these places, waiting to be reborn.
This is also a reflection on time: time that passes, and time that transforms.
Collectif Phosphore
Founded in 2022, Collectif Phosphore is an artistic duo composed of photographer Sarah Witt and architect/visual artist Matthieu Fares. Their research explores the theme of Mediterranean insularity through hybrid practices combining photography, cartography, collage, and installation. Their work moves between visual storytelling and territorial interpretation, with a special focus on marginal or suspended places.Ottovolante Sulcis APS
Active since 2010 in Sant’Antioco, Ottovolante Sulcis is a social promotion association working in culture, education, and territorial enhancement. It develops projects on art education, international mobility, and active citizenship, fostering dialogue between art, architecture, heritage, and community practices.Workshop on Earth and Natural Lime Building – September 2025, Argentiera (SS)
Date and details to be confirmed – updates coming soon
This project stems from the desire to restore an old earth-built house located on the beach of Mari Ermi, in Cabras, now sadly in ruins. Originally built with falasco (a type of local reed) and used by local fishermen, the house was later demolished and rebuilt using earth, becoming the home of a village family. Over the years, it was abandoned, and without maintenance, the structure gradually deteriorated and eventually collapsed, piece by piece.
Its setting — nestled within a striking coastal landscape — gives it unique charm and environmental value. While we wait for the right conditions to carry out a full restoration, this workshop serves as a symbolic first step: a gesture of renewal and awareness, and an act of care for the material and cultural memory of the area.
More information and a detailed program will be available soon.
Final Publication
At the conclusion of the project, a printed publication is planned, edited by Oreri publishing house, featuring critical texts and visual materials. Contributors include Stefano Rabolli Pansera (Bangkok Kunsthalle – Beyond Entropy Ltd), Andrea Perini (Terzo Paesaggio), and Sara Nieddu (De Rebus Sardois).
Project Partners:
Bangkok Kunsthalle Khao Yai Art Forest | Terzo Paesaggio | Ottovolante Sulcis | Landworks | Collectif Phosphore | Città della Terra Cruda | Giuseppe Frau Gallery
Thansk to: MuMA Hostel - Oreri Editore
Comunication: UC Studio
Supported by:
