The Second Shadow

The exhibition “The Second Shadow. Dozie Kanu Mirroring Marc Camille Chaimowicz, with Shared Echoes and Kindred Spirits”, curated by Rita Selvaggio with the support of Giulia Civardi, brings into dialogue two environmental installations conceived as rooms: “Jean Cocteau” (2003–2014) by Marc Camille Chaimowicz and a new site-specific intervention by Dozie Kanu created in response to the historical work.

The project reflects on themes of doubling, inheritance and the affective transmission of forms, establishing a genealogy that connects the artistic practices of Jean Cocteau, Marc Camille Chaimowicz and Dozie Kanu. Rather than reconstructing the earlier work in a strictly historical way, the exhibition functions as a system of resonance in which two autonomous environments confront and transform one another across space.

Chaimowicz’s installation is conceived as a hosting structure — a space open to the presence of artworks, objects and shifting arrangements. In parallel, Kanu’s intervention is conceived as an environment shaped by active hospitality, incorporating references to formative influences and artistic practices that have informed his research.

Works selected from the Nicoletta Fiorucci Collection are integrated within Kanu’s installation. These elements do not operate as direct homage but function as dynamic points of activation within the spatial dialogue between the two environments.