Conceived for Campo Junghans (Giudecca, Venice), the work engages with the historical memory of the site — a former factory that shifted from producing clocks to manufacturing landmines during World War II.
Structured in four acts based on fragments of Shostakovich’s String
Quartet No. 8, the performance tests the boundary between mechanical time and live execution: navigating the constraint of twelve metronomes to gradually dissolve rigid synchrony into free improvisation and environmental listening.
Last Measure is a project that prompts reflection on various aspects of the relationship between artistic research, musical discipline, and technique.
Within the performance, instruments – violin and metronomes are used in an heterodox manner, where technique serves precisely to measure the deviation from the concept of executional perfection.
Cesare Pietroiusti,
artist and curator of the project
Presented at the M9 Museum in Venice as part of the exhibition "Acque Alte" curated by Tommaso Strinati, the project unfolded across two formats:
1. 180° Circular Video Installation
A large-scale, 180-degree immersive projection (7x2 m) presented inside the museum — recorded and edited by the artist — documenting the site-specific action recorded at Campo Junghans in June 2026.
2. Live Performance
A live action performed outdoors in the piazza directly in front of M9 Museum, repeated across 3 iterations during June-July 2026.
The full 12-minute video documentation of the performance is available upon request for curatorial and research purposes.
The project is produced with the support of CSC – Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Polo di San Servolo).
