LANGUE MATERNELLE, TISSER L’IMMATÉRIEL:WEAVING, LANGUAGE, AND MEMORY IN MARA DI GIAMMATTEO’S EXHIBITION IN BOLOGNA

From 5 to 14 February 2026, Les Libellules Studio presents in Bologna the solo exhibition by Mara Di Giammatteo Langue Maternelle, tisser l’immatériel, as part of the official programme of the Municipality of Bologna and Arte Fiera, included in the Art City and Art City White Night calendar. The exhibition will open on Thursday 5 February 2026 at 4:30 pm at Les Libellules Studio, located at Via San Vitale 40/2.

The exhibition project emerges from an in-depth reflection on the relationship between language, memory, and weaving, and takes shape through a wall installation composed of thirty-six cushions, each measuring 50×50 cm. The works are made from an ancient handwoven hemp cloth originating from the Bolognese plain and embroidered with words and phrases in ancient Italian, French, and English. These languages are linked to the places where the artist has lived and carried out her research, collecting proverbs, popular sayings, songs, and sounds that are now largely forgotten, yet capable of restoring a memory of time measured through the rhythm of the loom.

Within the installation, songs of ancient Gaelic weavers coexist with proverbs passed down by grandmothers from Emilia and Romagna, who entrusted to the movement of the shuttle and to the unfolding of the textile interlacings forms of oracular knowledge related to life and time. The research presented on the occasion of Art City is drawn from a broader body of work entitled Langue Maternelle, tisser l’immatériel, in which Mara Di Giammatteo investigates the mother tongue as a foundational element of culture and of individual and collective identity, recognising it as an essential cultural heritage for humanity as a whole.

The project raises central questions concerning the meaning of understanding and speaking one’s mother tongue and the ways in which verbal, oral, and written language allows the resonance of human experience to be transmitted over time through linguistic codes and signs. In a historical context marked by an increasing risk of cultural extinction, language becomes a fragile yet indispensable vehicle for memory, knowledge, and relationship with the world. Each cushion narrates, through the words sewn onto its textile surface, the relationship between the term itself and the processes of oral and written transmission of the language to which it belongs.

The overall effect of the installation is that of an immersive environment that invites the viewer to enter a kind of room of sound, or more precisely, of silence. The artist evokes the atmosphere of soundproofed music recording studios, transforming it into a space constructed through textile surfaces and readable words, where verbal language and textile language intertwine in an experience of visual and conceptual listening.

Through annotation and the slow, deliberate action of embroidering words onto fabric, Di Giammatteo explores the etymological and phonetic relationship between sound and meaning, highlighting how words are formed over time through linguistic stratifications and ongoing contaminations of life among different peoples and cultures. From this perspective, the loss of a mother tongue entails not only the disappearance of a cultural heritage, but also the loss of a specific and unique way of communicating, sharing information, and transmitting knowledge. Mother tongues also hold symbolic and spiritual value for the communities that speak them, and their extinction can negatively affect mental health and overall quality of life.

The complete exhibition Langue Maternelle, tisser l’immatériel was selected in 2024 for Résonance, the 17th Biennale d’art contemporain de Lyon, curated by Isabelle Bertolotti, and was presented in Brussels as the solo exhibition Rapsodikòs at the Palazzo della Regione Abruzzo.

In Bologna, the exhibition will be open to the public starting from the opening day on 5 February 2026 from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. On Friday 6 February, the space will be accessible from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm and again from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. On Saturday 7 February, on the occasion of Art City White Night, the exhibition will remain open from 4:30 pm until midnight, while on Sunday 8 February visiting hours will be from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. From 9 to 14 February, the exhibition will be open exclusively in the morning, from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm.

Mara Di Giammatteo, born in 1973, is a visual and textile artist. She graduated in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and completed her training in tapestry weaving and natural dyeing at the Museo delle Genti d’Abruzzo, the Fondazione Lisio in Florence, and the Associazione M.E. Salice in Milan. She teaches Painting, Weaving, and Natural Dyeing for cultural institutions, museums, and the Italian Ministry of Education. She exhibits in Italy and abroad and collaborates with galleries including Le Studio Art Gallery in Lyon, Bautarte Gallery in Montorio al Vomano, and Les Libellules Studio in Bologna. Winner of the Culture Moves Europe grant 2022–23 with the Goethe-Institut and the European Union, she is currently involved in artistic residency projects between Italy and Belgium. In 2024 she was selected for Résonance – 17th Biennale d’art contemporain de Lyon and for Il femminile nell’arte at the Hungarian Academy in Rome as one of the Italian excellences in contemporary tapestry weaving. Her works are held in public and private collections in Italy and abroad.

Les Libellules Studio is a creative space based in Bologna and active since 2010. It was originally founded as a tailoring workshop dedicated to the creation of costumes for visual art and bespoke garments for Haute Couture, and in recent years has shifted its focus toward the design of artistic installations for shop windows and scenographic environments. Craftsmanship represents the core value of its approach and is considered as essential as the conceptual dimension. The diversity of the team allows the studio to offer customised services through a wide range of production techniques, while maintaining high standards of quality and expertise. The space regularly hosts exhibitions and supports emerging artists.