Superstes

An installation by Matteo Basilé that sets a living fern in relation to the human image. It will be shown from 12 November 2026 in the exhibition Magnifica Humanitas, at the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris.

The project starts from observing a real fern, Osmunda regalis, with two electrodes placed on its fronds. A thirty-eight minute recording, made in the studio in October 2026, is the starting point for a model that imagines a longer stretch of the plant’s life. The model is a declared construction, kept separate from the recorded data.

The signals become sound first, then rhythm and change in the image. In the faces photographed by Basilé, breath, tears and transformations appear: a visual vocabulary chosen by the artist, which makes no claim to give the plant human emotions.

The Latin title means the one who survives and the one who bears witness. After thirty years of work on the human body, Basilé hands the time of the image to another living being.

• Artwork: Matteo Basilé
• Exhibition curated by Antonio Calbi and Dominique Moulon
• Music for the exhibition film: Marco Del Bene (MKDB)
• Development and production: ArtistProof