MACELLAIO

A sculptural-dialogic installation naming the most misunderstood and denied crime: sexual violence. A butcher’s knife, crafted in early 20th-century iron, is embedded in a beech wood block (the same as in cutting boards) and sheathed in a mirrored surface. A poem etched on the blade reads: “Mi mangi Mi sputi Ti nutri / Mi mangi Mi stupri Ti nutri.” This formula reveals sexual violence as a structural act of power—an internal devouring, theft of vital force. The mirrored surface inverts spectator and subject, turning seeing into responsibility. Macellaio summons not viewers, but witnesses—called to recognize their place within rape culture that normalizes, justifies, and perpetuates sexual violence.

Photos by Alessandro Macciardi

Featured in the exhibition NO FUTURE