Formiche giudiziose (Wise Ants) was conceived to explore the concept of control mechanisms, creating thought-provoking disruptions that encourage reflection on the individual.

The supermarket, a symbol of consumerism since its inception, brought with it a sense of connection and trust for post-war Italy. Viewed as a metaphor for change, it is a recognized space that establishes and defines a formula, leading to a specific behavioral pattern. This pattern reflects the way society is shaped into mass conformity.

The video component of the project offers a critical reflection on the society of consumption and control. It juxtaposes the supermarket with emerging technologies, examining how these systems are applied to predict and regulate human behavior. By using archival footage with a distinct aesthetic that blends various visual formats, the video applies criteria of analysis and measurement, evoking a comparison between past consumer habits and present-day automated control systems.

The dialogue between past and present aims to create a highly charged visual language. We employ automated methods—scripts and codes—to maintain an active yet objective role. Our reinterpretation of the past, with a modern technological awareness, becomes a tool to analyze the rise of the supermarket—both the forerunner and symbol of the consumer society—through the lens of the very scripts that now govern us. The stick figures generated by these codes, which are applied to archival footage, guide the viewer’s gaze throughout the narrative, gradually diminishing the relevance of physical presence in favor of technological dominance. As we record and convert bodies into data, they progressively lose their uniqueness and specificity.

A project by
Lorenzo Urgesi
Chiara Rebolino

Original Soundtrack
Marco Elia
Lorenzo Urgesi

Archival sources
Archivio Storico LUCE

Supervisors
Milo Adami
Alessandro Carrer
Patrizia Cacciani
Andrea Scappa

Urbino, 2024