TRYING TO BE MY GRANNY
a project by Federico Cavallini

“My grandmother collected some objects during her lifetime, not many, considering she died at age 94. Objects like wedding gifts, baptism souvenirs, bonbonniere, figurines, chinoiserie, ornaments of all sorts and religious objects. She had ordered them on the furniture of the different rooms of her house according to her own criteria. She arranged these objects at different heights, but always at hand to be able to remove them for dusting.
My grandmother was very short, so the objects, even those higher up, were at hand, but nobody touched them.
The most personal objects were in her bedroom. Others scattered elsewhere, especially in the living room where she had my old paintings, my university degree and some houseplants.
In her house, she would see time pass by. She placed herself in there like an object that is conveniently packed up in its case.
I always wanted to be my granny.”

Federico Cavallini Born in 1974 works and lives in Livorno (IT). He graduated in history of medieval art at the Department of Literature and Philosophy in Pisa University. In 2004 he worked in Fabio Mauri’s studio in Rome. In 2012 he co-founded the art space Carico Massimo in Livorno. Selected main exhibitions: Centro d’Arte Contemporanea La Nuova Pesa (Rome), Chiesa di Santo Stefano Rotondo in collaboration with Fondazione Volume! (Rome), Thessaloniki Biennal, La Venaria Reale (Torino), Villa Romana (Florence). The Italian embassy (Berlin). Kunstraum Munchen (Munich).

salvator rosa