4 minute read
IM Italian magazine issue #18
Two artists, an island, and the sea: Marco Lais and Anna Tea Salis.
by Roberto Sironi.
We are a couple not only in art but also in life. The love for Art has somehow brought us together for over ten years. We play together in different projects combining music and literature. We are Cultural and Experiential Operators at the “Suona Association” in Serrenti, creating many events (film forums, concerts, exhibitions, book presentations, and so on), we create experiences in which people feel an integral part of our events through art and a familiar and pleasant environment. With us there is no curtain, no distance, no veil between audience and artist, but synergy and sharing are created.
- What is Sardinia for you?
- What is Sardinia for you?
Sardinia vibrates deeply for us. It is an island made up of many small continents, each with its history, cultural richness, and mysticism that is difficult to detach from. That’s why those who come often suffer from the “Mal di Sardegna”, that feeling of nostalgia that assails you when you leave the port and part with it.
- Sardinia is surrounded by the sea... Is it just an island or is it much more?
It is a beating heart, the sea on the horizon gives us the sensation of Infinity, a bit like the Threads of Infinity by the artist Maria Lai. You feel like you’re an integral part of something more... We have always been attracted by encounters and sound forms with the sounds of this land. Surely music was able to open the way to perceive the beauty of this island. A land perhaps still unable to manage and preserve its many riches in the best possible way, but certainly a magical land.
- Tell us about this life project made of music, art and literature!
Well! We believe it is dictated by the awareness of being able to share, as already mentioned, many spaces and many experiences where we can create encounters and comparisons between the various artistic expressions.
Art is always contemporary, it responds to needs in a given historical moment, it does not give answers but poses reflections, and it can create beauty by interpreting what surrounds us.
- What is Domu Odilia? What does it represent? And above all, why Domu Odilia, what is its meaning and importance?
It is a recreational and receptive space where we host many events and create experiences. Domu comes from Sardinia, indicating Casa. Odilia was the name of the owner who bequeathed to us (in a completely unexpected way and as in fairy tales) her manor house, a structure made of Trachyte (the typical stone of Serrenti). This legacy has allowed us to create not only our Art Center but also an experiential B&B where the people who come to visit us find themselves in an intimate environment, they immerse themselves in the past, and the rooms maintain the old furniture in an antique/modern style, bathrooms and kitchen are shared, The idea is to recreate a family environment and to introduce people to each other. You can collect the story of Mrs. Odilia in the book The White Widow by Anna Tea, who was inspired by the house and told her life.
You can also view Domu Odilia’s spaces on the Domu Odilia B&B Facebook page.
Cinema inspires all our movements. Marco is deeply attached to cinema because his grandmother opened one in 1964 which unfortunately closed in the early eighties. For over 40 years, the aged structure has continued to tell the dream of being able to give warmth and life back to a space that has remained preserved in the memory of the whole community. Through the involvement of some island artists, we are creating a living movement of audio and video documents to enhance a recovery project. One of these documents is currently visible on YouTube and is made with Roberto Sironi.
Music for me is a connection with the sounds and rhythms of nature. It is an act of kindness to the world that needs its energy. Without music, you don’t get anywhere. Music is a salvation and a way to discover our potential. I have been playing guitar for over 30 years and in my life I have collaborated with “many and diverse” artists (musicians, poets, and painters). I spend a lot of time researching sounds, often inspired by folk music, hence Crudo, a solo Guitar project with a World Music flavor that you can view on my Marco Lais youtube page. I also deal with music teaching activities for children and paradoxically I find myself being their student.