Entropia esistenziale

By Manuel De Marco

How does chaos change us? When everything falls back into place, are we still the same?

On October 29, Fishead Lab presents Entropia Esistenziale, a performance by artist Manuel De Marco.

A pile of worn-out car tires, originating from an abandoned parking lot, enters the art space as a metaphor for the body and memory.

At the beginning of the performance, the tires are neatly stacked in the centre of the space. The performer then disrupts this initial balance, scattering the tires across the space one by one. He moves among them, engaging with them physically, encountering each tire and inhabiting the spaces they occupy. Finally, he gathers all the tires and rebuilds the central stack, yet its arrangement is no longer the same as before.

This movement from order to chaos and then reconstruction is not merely a transformation of space, but also an exploration of self-reconstruction. The chaos we experience always leaves its traces, and rebuilding does not mean returning to where we began. We try to reorganise our lives, mend our fractures, and rediscover ourselves, yet in the process, we also become someone different from who we were before.

In a time when established orders and values are constantly being questioned and redefined, how we understand ourselves, navigate change, and rebuild our relationship with the world becomes an important question. Through the interaction between body and material, Entropia Esistenziale explores this process: reconstruction is not a return to an original state, but an attempt to reorganise ourselves after change and to accept the traces that cannot be erased.

ENTROPIA ESISTENZIALE
Performance by Manuel De Marco
Curated by FISHEAD LAB

📅 October 29, 2026 · 6:30 PM
📍 Fishead Lab, Via Eugenio Camerini 2, Milan
⏱️ 15 minutes · 3 repetitions

Text & presentation: Andrea Contin
Sound: Alessandro Seravalle

Biografie

MANUEL DE MARCO

Manuel De Marco (Udine, 1987) lives and works in Milan. He holds degrees in Industrial Design from the ISIA (Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche) in Florence and in Product Design from the Iuav University of Venice; his practice explores existential themes and the relationship between the individual and the world through painting, video, and performance. He has participated in exhibitions such as Terra Cognita (Viafarini, Milan), *Infra-Ordinario Contemporaneo* (Paratissima, Turin), Lo Spazio Vissuto (Italian Cultural Institute, Tirana), Nextarts (MAGA Museum, Gallarate), and Domani in Arte (GAM, Rome).

ANDREA CONTIN

Andrea Contin (Padua, 1971)—who holds a diploma in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and adegree in Psychology from the University of Padua—is an artist, curator, journalist, and educator. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows and participated in awards and residencies both in Italy and abroad. He conceived, curates, and hosts Corpi sul palco (Bodies on Stage)—a performance art series produced by Teatro Linguaggicreativi in Milan—and Corpi 2.0®, a traveling residency program. He has curated gallery exhibitions and held seminars and lectures at museums and institutions; he writes for Robinson (part of La Repubblica) and serves as Art Editor in-Chief for Cultweek. He teaches Painting at an art high school and has previously served as a Painting Professor for Boston University in Venice and as a teaching assistant and subject specialist at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts; he has also taught in youth care facilities and prisons.

ALESSANDRO SERAVALLE

Alessandro Seravalle, who holds a degree in Philosophy with a thesis on Cioran, has been active as a composer and performer for over thirty years. As the leader of Garden Wall, he experiments with progressive rock, electronica, and improvisation. He has founded projects such as Officina F.lli Seravalle, Genoma, Schwingungen 77, James Frederick Willett, Klang!, Qohelet, and Il testamento degli arcadi. He has collaborated with various artists and published literary works and essays, combining musical exploration with philosophical reflection.