underneath the grove of sycamore, 2021, ink on paper. 760 x 560mm. Image courtesy of the artist.
Via Purifico is a collection of architectural objects that place the events of Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film Romeo + Juliet in the same universe as Squaresoft’s 2001 video game Final Fantasy X. The pairing of these worlds arises through their similar application of architecture, in particular, through their shared motif of the ‘ruin’, which suggests that each fictional world may be set in the remnants of the other. Via Purifico is a series of objects that connect the two universes in a non-linear timeline, refusing to clearly state which narrative universe is the precursor to the other, giving rise to indeterminate causal relationships evident within the objects.
Via Purifico was originally shown at Pig Melon ARI in Boorloo/Perth in 2021, and was later incorporated into the Futures + Ruins exhibition with Tom Borgas and Erin Coates at the Adelaide Central Gallery in 2022.
This project was generously supported by Arts South Australia.
^ The Mi’ihen Highroad, 2021. Balsa wood. Image courtesy of Sam Roberts.
< Ask of Me Tomorrow, 2021. Image courtesy of Sam Roberts.
Group exhibition installation shot, Futures + Ruins, Adelaide Central Gallery, 2022. Image courtesy of Sam Roberts.