A Labyrinth of Flies

The current exhibition at the museum of the Masone Labyrinth focuses on flies (though only painted ones, Muscae depictae, Museum Flies as it were), and it may be interpreted in many ways. Perhaps as a tribute to the tiny critters that have long been faithful visitors to the lowlands of Parma or, perhaps, as a way to salve my conscience (I confess to killing more than my fair share of the buzzing pests each summer, with some flair, of which I am justifiably proud). In Justine, the Marquis de Sade wrote: Il faut tuer ceux qui nous gênent, ‘we must kill those who annoy us.’ And, indeed, I take that as my own policy, if only where You are concerned, O two-winged blight of my existence!  Many years ago, Franco Maria Ricci published a captivating and trailblazing study: André Chastel’s Musca Depicta. This exhibition was inspired by that 1984 book. Museums and private collectors have loaned us their painted flies, and alongside those vintage specimens we will also be showing flies that appear in the work of such contemporary artists as Maurizio Bottoni, Damien Hirst, and Yoko Ono.

Laura Casalis