NOIRE

The ensemble of nine black-background panels, set up on the wall at short intervals, depicts in the upper part a male figure – his face remains out of frame – precariously balanced on the central intersection point of the diagonals, drawn in colored pencil. Eight reproductions of the artist’s previous graphic works are applied haphazardly, as if dropped by the protagonist.The title – taken from a well-known Italian coffee brand, whose logo is shown in the central element of the bottom row – refers, literally, to the black paper of the nine panels and at the same time, in more implicit terms, pays tribute to Marco Noire, the main publisher of Paolini’s graphic works. Noire himself is also referenced through the images of the editions, all printed by him.The male character represents an alter ego of the author, always teetering between past and future, searching for an ideal balance point where everything converges into a complete image.

Bettina Della Casa