PIZZAG8 | PCNC_BAY, BLUNT, SKENSVED

PIZZAG8 is a collaborative project that brings together the artists Manuel Scheiwiller (known as PCNC_BAY), Gregory Blunt, and Emmy Skensved. Taking place in two different cities – Athens and Sofia – it takes the form of a nighttime event with the dual purpose of highlighting the communicative potential of an intercultural icon like pizza and, at the same time, demonstrating how a controversial and seemingly divisive topic can instead become a starting point for reflection that brings together people from different backgrounds and contexts in a dialogue united by the very desire to communicate.

The PIZZAG8 event unfolds over the course of one week. During this period, every night, from evening until the following morning, the doors of a suggestive location, a kind of itinerant nightspot, are opened. Strips of red LED lights illuminate a room whose walls, ceiling and floor included, are covered with fabric. At the center of the room is a large, soft round cushion, upon which are scattered other small cushions, some shaped like mushrooms, others that resemble pieces of mozzarella or basil leaves. Nothing else further decorates the room, but beside it, behind a perforated fabric, there is a small space in which a DJ set is installed.
These elements are intended to create a relaxed atmosphere that encourages a friendly attitude, inviting participants to lie down on the ‘pizza’ and chat with others.
Background mixed music, drinks, and cocktails are the ingredients that complete the night.

Interesting is the play on words contained in the title PIZZAG8, which can also be interpreted as a suggestion, certainly not binding, to open a political dialogue: in fact, the English pronunciation of this word sounds like “pizzagate,” referring to the scandal that occurred during the 2016 USA presidential elections; G8 was also the abbreviated name of the political forum that annually brought together eight of the world’s leading national governments to discuss and compare economic strategies.
Leveraging widely loved elements such as music and pizza, PCNC_BAY, Blunt, and Skensved have devised a project that encourages communication, confrontation, and the exchange of ideas, even if they are different or divisive.

PCNC_BAY x Blunt x Skensved
PIZZAG8, 2017
Installation view in Athens, Greece 2017
© Photo by Emmy Skensved, courtesy the artists

28/10/2023