Andrea Bowers: La Ragnatela

Andrea Bowers. La Ragnatela is a solo exhibition by American artist Andrea Bowers, presented at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and curated by Bernardo Follini. Based in Los Angeles, Bowers has developed an artistic practice over more than three decades at the intersection of visual art and activism. Working across drawing, painting, installation and video, she addresses issues of social justice and advocacy, bringing attention to figures, histories and episodes often overlooked in accounts of collective struggles.

The exhibition focuses on Bowers’s interest in ecofeminism, particularly the feminist anti-nuclear and disarmament movements of the 1980s. Alongside existing works, it presents new productions dedicated to La Ragnatela, a women’s peace camp established in 1983 in Comiso, Sicily, in opposition to the installation of a NATO military base and in support of the international nuclear disarmament movement. New neon works are presented alongside recurring elements of Bowers’s practice, including her political ribbons and a cardboard work inspired by the camp.

Rare archival documents from the 1980s, made available through a network of activists and researchers, further contextualise the movement and its historical significance. Through these materials and new artistic interventions, Bowers reconstructs a network of transnational alliances, highlighting the contribution of feminist activism to peace movements and nuclear disarmament. The exhibition also reflects on the relevance of these histories to contemporary debates on environmental responsibility, political engagement and collective action.