Walls Talk – Words and Walls

Graffiti and calligraffiti

‘Walls Talk – 55 Italian Walls – 55 Calligraffiti’ is an international project on walls and words. 55 words were requested from 55 people who have a special connection with the Italian language: writers, poets, translators, teachers, artists etc. Their words were then given shape by 55 calligraphers from 13 countries and superimposed on 55 photos of Italian walls. This resulted in a book and an exhibition in Antwerp, Brussels, Rome, Lucca, Alden Biesen and Amersfoort (2015-2019). ‘Walls Talk’ is a project by Joris Wouters in association with Joke van den Brandt (Kalligrafia) and Emiliano Manzillo (Dante Alighieri Anversa), with the support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.

Walls and the art of assemblage

Walls provide the starting point for several projects. Following the exhibitions ‘3x10 Italian Walls’ (2017) and ‘Doppio sguardo sull’Italia’ (2017), in association with Silvio Perrella and Emiliano Manzillo, it is the turn of ‘Torn-up Walls’. Four works were first exhibited in Antwerp as part of D’ArTE, an event organised by Dante Alighieri Anversa and Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in April 2019. A new series focuses on Venice, another one consists of assemblages with the theme of biodiversity and endangered species.

The people behind the walls

‘Portrait of a Village in Calabria’ is the title of a project focusing on a village in the Italian region of Calabria. Photos and texts were used to sketch a portrait of the extremely varied inhabitants of this village. A story of people, walls and migration. ‘Portrait of a Village in Calabria’ is a project by Joris Wouters and Jelle Wildiers.