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Art & Books

Raffaela Mariniello

Rating: NNNNN


WHAT: Souvenir d’Italie, Consulate General of Italy (fence on Dundas West at Beverley, www.contactphoto.com), to June 1

WHY: In 10 large-scale photographs, Naples photog Mariniello thumbs her nose at romantic ideas of gelato-filled Roman holidays. Instead, she focuses on the tackier, mass-market side of tourism, putting things like SpongeBob balloon stalls and T-shirt kiosks front and centre rather than the historic churches, monuments and piazzas they’ve colonized. Best: the neon-ensconced Barry White pub hawking Ritz crackers and Bacardi Breezers outside a castle.

BUZZ: Considering it’s part of the Italian Consulate’s job to promote the kind of tourism Mariniello critically exposes, this show is considerably smarter than expected. Since the 90s, she’s explored relationships between citizens, everyday objects and places of residence, starting with an iconic project on the closure of Naples steel plants and related human impacts.

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