Cronaca Rotta — Niccolò Moronato

Cronaca Rotta is an alternative frequency on reality and an ongoing collective practice of self-portrayal and channeling alternate realities through the intuitive remix of local newspapers’ headlines. It is an ongoing collage practice that relies on collaboration and irony to create momentary escapes from language restrictions.   

Starting from a growing archive of newsagent headlines from Chioggia, the process invites participants to deconstruct and recombine words and sentences according to their sensitivity.

***Cronaca Rotta*** *- Frequenza collettiva di compresenza 2022 - ongoing.*

“Does any word here resonate with you?
 Is there anything that makes you smile or that annoys you?
 Feel free to cut out whatever hits your eye and then we’ll play with it…”

— Guiding Prompts at UVA Residency

The process was initiated as a joint activity in 2022 during UVA Residency in rural Monferrato region, and it incorporated raw materials from both the Chioggia archive and local Monferrato news.

As a practice, it allowed for an ironic, spontaneous perspective shift on the media-imposed language that defines the “public sphere”, and it also functioned as a trace of the presence of 11 artists living together in the same house for a month.  

The original collages (known as “matrixes”) are stored and documented in the “Cronaca Rotta” archive.

The prints
Original collages are then “translated” back again into the materiality of headline posters, and re-inserted in their native environment. 

As part of the process, all the subjects are first edited into a limited series of digital posters, and then progressively transformed into hand-made, unique gum prints.  

For more details and inquiries about the gum prints and the limited edition posters, please contact me or check out Metalabel.