An artist’s actions that normally take place within “four walls” are transmitted out onto the street: he relaxes, cooks, drinks, eats, sleeps, and provides hospitality there.
Casa = house
Barricata = barricade
Barricasa = barricade-house
At a heavily frequented location in the centre of the city, we find the contents of a private Rijeka apartment. The vacant apartment somewhat retains its function – connected by pipes and cables to the apartment which has been relocated out into the street, it supplies it like blood vessels and provides it with electricity and water.
The installation is blocking the passage, but at the same time, it invites us to relax in comfortable armchairs and wait for lunch to be prepared. The host is not the person to whom the displaced apartment belongs, but an Italian artist who, in his role as the guest of the European Capital of Culture, and as the guest of the true owner of the apartment, becomes the host. Parasitising for 24 hours on the original host, whose apartment twists into a pocket-like street, Morbin provides those who happen to pass by with the hospitality of a pleasant conversation, coffee and a meal, or simply a break from the day. Similar to the ramps in automaTic operation, Morbin blocks passers-by to urge them to step into an unusual barricade. Something that is at first suspicious, inconvenient and potentially frustrating, soon turns into a fun, interesting and relaxing experience.
The intervention was inspired by a postcard from 1920 (during the regency of Gabriele D’Annunzio) depicting a barricade made of furniture at the beginning of today’s Victims of Fascism Street (then Via XX Settembre) in Rijeka.