Federico Tosi

Critical text

Balanced between archaeology and dystopia, the works of Federico Tosi (b. 1988, Milano) disrupt the linear nature of time and present tragicomic perspectives on the past and future. Fossils made of concrete and sculpted bones, like precious relics of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, seem to suggest a continuing rewinding of History, an eternal return generated by the constant presence of human beings. Reflecting on the impact of endlessly expanding knowledge and the disastrous impacts of the Anthropocene, the artist reproportions macro- and micro-worlds to reveal the invisible and the inaccessible, from cellular systems to galaxies. In his artistic practice, Tosi reconsiders the concepts of history, science, archiving and exploration, laying the groundwork for a disenchanted and sardonic interpretation of what is to come. For Present Future, Tosi has conceived Almost (2021), an aged automaton without any function, limited in its movement and its vocal communication. As the artist explains, the robot is a paradox of complexity and stupidity, victim of a dream of immortality that has caused its ruin and the loss of any human characteristic.

Text by Ilaria Gianni