The MANN will host “We Are Masterpieces @MANN”, a project promoted by FAIS ODV that brings art and health together, inviting visitors to see the body – and its uniqueness – from a different perspective.
What if a work of art could also tell us the stories we often prefer to hide? The exhibition features some of the most celebrated masterpieces in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN), including the Farnese Hercules, the Callipygian Venus, the Tyrannicides, the Apollo Citharoedus, the Runners and the Drunken Satyr.
In front of the sculptures, transparent panels overlay images of medical devices used by people living with a stoma or incontinence onto the artworks. A few steps can change everything: from one position, visitors see the sculpture as it was originally created; from another, the medical device becomes an integral part of the body depicted. The artworks themselves remain unchanged: what changes is the way we see them. A body that bears the marks of illness or medical treatment does not lose its value, identity or beauty.
Through the universal language of art, “We Are Masterpieces @MANN” seeks to challenge the stigma that still surrounds stomas and incontinence, while promoting a culture rooted in dignity, inclusion and the right to participate fully in society.
