Chi siamo — Elisabetta Antonucci

Elisabetta Antonucci. She/They

Born in Italy in November 1979. Lives and works between Venice IT and London UK.

I explore the intricate connections between living beings and the sensory conversations that unfold between them. My work investigates symbiosis, non-verbal communication, and the ways perception shapes relationships. Through contemplative films that embrace stillness and meditation, I seek new perspectives on interconnection, drawing from queer ecology, eco-feminism, and spiritual animism.

I collaborate with the landscape, with neuroqueer artists and communities, fostering creative exchanges and playful rituals. My approach is deeply personal; I transform my own fragilities into moving images that carry a sense of healing and reflection. I work slowly, embracing found materials, unexpected opportunities, and ecological practices that emphasize care, reciprocity, and environmental consciousness.

I am drawn to the magic powers that inanimate objects can hold through our spells. Teddy bears are my queer talismans.

@zaingibson

My film practice begins with a desire to heal feelings of loss, solitude and alienation, by exploring symbioses between beings. Dubbing my early work “Looking for a friend”, filming was an excuse to spend time with tiny wild plants, insects, stones, and curious hidden details of the landscape. Finding inspiration in the nature that thrives in urbanised and liminal spaces, I look for messages of reclamation, stories of resilience, and queer acts of self-determination from non-human sources.

Using meditation practices, and taking cues from Buddhist philosopher Thich Nhat Hanh’s concept of the interdependence of co-existence, my films connect viewers with other beings and environments, they are transformative journeys from thought to complex bodily sensations. Filming takes me to suburban and natural environments that are greatly affected by human presence and climate change. Working with the practical immediacy of the iPhone, I use presence, stillness and methods of meditative contemplation to promote new ecological understanding. In the installation of my work, I aim to create spaces that assist the healing process, with emphasis on a neuro-queer attentiveness to acceptance, placing viewers in a state of contemplation and intense observation.

I collaborate with performer Ana Paxeco to explore together our symbiotic relationship with the landscape, especially with the suburban areas of the river Tejo estuary and the mass tourism coast of the Algarve.

Elisabetta holds an MA in Artists’ Film and Moving Image from Goldsmiths (2022) and a Graduate Diploma in Fine Arts from UAL. Their most recent film, Breath of a Stone, funded by the European programme The Big Green, offers a personal and sensory response to the changing landscapes of the Algarve. Previous works such as Parallel Cycles, Here and A Healing Opera, not only highlight the interconnected web of life but also expand the concept of nature, exploring the blurred line between what is natural and what is artificial. Parallel Cycles is a site-specific project created for Territory Expo 2022-Lisbon, organized by Pada and Sluice Magazine. A Healing Opera, originally presented at Goldsmiths’ degree show, was selected for Sleepless Elysium at the Venetian Arsenal.

Elisabetta has a professional background in fashion, prop, and costume design for international trade fairs, including Pitti and Salone del Mobile in Milan. Since 2018, they have been part of the French-Italian music project Taranta Lanera, contributing stage installations and visual designs.