The last spoonful is fatal. The letter-shaped pasta that have -coincidentally, miraculously- formed Erziehungs-Entwicklungsprozess ( “evolutionary process of education”) on the plate, are about to be eaten by young dining companions, unaware of the hex of the verbal cuisine. This shot of Adalberto Abbate (Palermo, 1975 ) halts the scene a few moments before the dish is cleared away. The eyes must be peeled then, so as not to miss hidden details. The mysterious phrase, camouflaged but distinguishable, emerges from a mixture of tiny swastika pasta, the letters and parsley. This is the cutting irony of the excellent Palermitan artist who, for years, has had a joyful obsession with the icons of the contemporary, well represented by his historical cycle in progress Tomato Therapy, just like the controversial series with swastikas. The scandalous series, never shown until now.
As a result of those swastikas, Abbate was hit in 2003 with resounding censorship by Genio di Palermo, an event dedicated to emerging Sicilian artists. Although selected, the work was then contested on charges of praising Nazism. The case inevitably exploded, and the artist received more publicity for the cancelled work than for that actually shown. It would take took four years to see on display a good selection of the offending photos.
The subject? Irreligious, funny, cruel, playful, are far from praising. Situations from daily life in which the darkness of the symbol is unexpectedly dropped, becoming more than itself, betraying and mocking itself. A disgusting luminous pink cake, two erotic black tape nipple covers, small medallions that hang from a dog’s collar, a sticker pasted on two bananas: the shape of swastika – having become an empty cliché and senseless – infects objects, it infiltrates into disparate contexts and upsets (bad) consciences. Not forgetting the grandma pulling a tray of swastika biscuits out of the oven, a scene judged in bad taste for the subtle allusion to Nazi camp incinerators. Equally as uncomfortable are the fake black football strips worn by players in the classic team photo pose, calmly displaying a beautiful white swastika. The myth of the fascist athletic superhero, joined with memory of sadistic military squads, crumbles in this harmless image of five subjects not at all muscled and not at all threatening – aside from their shirts ….
