Oscillating between memory and hallucination, The Silent Ray probes the relation between public and private retelling of dramatic historical events — namely, the colonial war Fascism waged against Ethiopia in 1935-36. Through careful spatial reconstruction and a form of narration that draws extensively from the theatrical monologue, the work explores the human need for transcending one’s social and personal constraints, regardless of consequences.

Rossella Nisio [IT] is visual artist based in Rotterdam whose work has a strong focus on notions of memory, imagination and space. She has a background in the theory of cinema and performing arts; she pursued her practical training first within the field of documentary photography, eventually moving towards autonomous still and moving image-making.