Contemporary Art Exhibition by artist Mauro De Giorgi, curated by Prof Paolo Diego Bubbio
When Gods Walked the Earth is a project developed through a series of artworks inspired by René Girard’s mimetic theory, and developed through an intellectual dialogue between artist Mauro De Giorgi and philosopher Diego Bubbio over the past few years. The intent is to highlight everlasting themes that are prominent in our culture and society, such as the mimetic nature of desire, violence, sacrifice and scapegoating.
De Giorgi’s art combines Asian, Japanese aesthetics and techniques with Western themes and insights. The encounter between De Giorgi’s art and Girard’s mimetic theory is insightful and powerful: in a whirlwind of evocative and moving images, we travel across ancient myths, Christian symbolism, and contemporary suggestions. Through this aesthetic experience, we can meditate on our own deeply mimetic nature, and on the imperative need to reject scapegoating and violence.
The exhibition launch on 10 October will feature the presence of the artist Mauro De Giorgi as well as an introduction by Dr Chris Fleming (Western Sydney University) and commentary by mimetic theory scholar Prof. Paolo Diego Bubbio, who will provide an aesthetic and theoretical analysis of each artwork in the exhibition, emphasizing the way in which the visual and artistic representation of mimetic theory concepts can help us understand the mimetic victimage.
Mauro De Giorgi (Torino 1972) is an international artist who has exhibited in Italy (Venice Biennale), United Kingdom (London), Japan (Tokyo), Singapore, and France, where he currently resides. De Giorgi has always been fascinated by Asian and Japanese aesthetics, and has been painting since he was a child. In 2010 he moved to London, where he also kept producing and displaying his own artwork at various London galleries and across Europe. In 2015 he was selected by the Benetton Art Foundation to exhibit at the Venice Biennale. In 2017 he participated to Art Basel (Switzerland) and exhibited in Singapore under the patronage of the Italian Embassy. In 2018 some of his artworks were used in a collection for Milan Fashion Week, as well as for the creation of a new series of Seiko watches in Japan.
Diego Bubbio (Torino 1974) is an internationally recognized philosopher and mimetic 
theory scholar. He has a PhD in Philosophical Hermeneutics from the University of Turin (Italy) and he is Associate Professor at Western Sydney University, Australia. The winner of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship, he has been studying and researching mimetic theory for the past 20 years. Since 1998, he has published several journal articles and book chapters on mimetic theory, both in Italian and in English. In 2018, he published Intellectual Sacrifice and Other Mimetic Paradoxes (MSU Press), an account of his twenty-year intellectual journey through the twists and turns of Girard’s mimetic theory. In 2014, he was awarded a grant of the ‘Imitatio Foundation’ for a project (co-directed with Chris Fleming) on “Mimetic Theory and Film”. A collection of essays resulting from that project has been published in 2019 (Mimetic Theory and Film, Bloomsbury Academic).
Exhibition organized thanks to a grant awarded by the Raven Foundation.
Opening of the exhibition:
Thursday, 10 October 2019 @ 6:00 pm
Free entry. Limited seats.
Booking essential: www.eventbrite.com.au