Pompei, Pompeii

Softcover, perfect binding, 16.5 × 23.5 cm, full colour + spot colour, 112 pages
Edition: 350, design: Astrid Seme, 2019 Writers: Michiel Huijben

For Pompei, Pompeii Swiss artist Bianca Pedrina carefully inspects the relationship between form and function in a newly implemented accessibility project in Pompeii. The project consists of iron elements embedded in the gaps of the historic Roman streets, and allow barrier-free access to the excavation site. These custom-fit grids and ramps seem to melt between lava stones underfoot. The contemporary architectural intervention into the ancient Roman city structure shows the individual city planning concepts of different eras and cultures and their handling of marginalised groups. Pompei, Pompeii contains portrait photographs of those newly installed iron grids, and images of isolated Pompeii tourists. They both ask questions about sustainable and meaningful forms of tourism and about the use and transformation of built environments over time. The photographs are accompanied by an essay by Dutch architectural theorist and artist Michiel Huijben. He traces the history of Pompeii, its continued existence as one of the most visited archaeological excavation sites with all its inherent myths and secrets.