Ci sono sempre orecchie sull’altro lato del.. sole

The work transforms Gianni Godi’s portrait into an unstable threshold between personal identity and collective language, where the proverbial error strips words of their reassuring function and returns them as interference. In the series «15 Portrait 15 Poets», Zampogna does not simply celebrate a community of friends and authors. He exposes each identity to impersonal formulas already worn down by use. Here the distorted proverb does not replace the subject with verbal play, but fractures the pact between image, name, and shared memory. The poet remains recognisable, while the language meant to accompany him ceases to provide stable meaning.

The formula «Ci sono sempre orecchie sull’altro lato del.. sole» crosses the lower edge of the face and diverts a familiar statement towards an incongruous image. “Ears,” “other side,” and “sun” appear to promise a logical sequence, yet instead produce placeless surveillance and an impossible reverse. This verbal instability is matched by broad white and blue strokes, which interrupt the continuity of the screen printed image without erasing Godi’s recognisability. The portrait thus oscillates between individual presence and reproducible image. The acrylic does not complete the face, but subjects it to a discontinuity analogous to that introduced by the phrase. Personal memory, too, becomes legible only through codes that disturb it.

Compared with the earlier contaminations between «real reality» and «media reality», the series relocates the conflict within the relation between face and language. The impersonality of screen printing and the echo of a scratchcard verdict return friendship and poetry to systems of communication that classify, promise, or deny. Yet Godi is not entirely absorbed by those systems: the persistence of his gaze opposes the damaged formula with a presence that remains singular. The work therefore leaves unresolved a decisive tension in Zampogna’s practice. Identity can emerge from collective codes, but can no longer appear independently of their interference.