FREEDOM KICK by Eugenio Merino and Indecline, Exhibition Space Revolution, Palermo

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FREEDOM KICK by Eugenio Merino and Indecline

From 22 February to 22 March 2025

Space Revolution

Piazza della Rivoluzione, 9, Palermo

Closed today: open tomorrow at 19:00

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FREEDOM KICK

Eugenio Merino and Indecline 22.02 - 22.03 2025 opening 22 02 2025 at 7:00 pmCurated by Adalberto Abbate Soundtrack by Celso Pina and Rage Against The Machine; Photographic contributions by Jason Goodrich; Technical support by Friends of Sicilian Museums
A month after Donald Trump's inauguration, at Spazio Rivoluzione Freedom Kick, a video installation by Eugenio Merino created in collaboration with the American activist collective Indecline.In a seemingly borderless field, a young team is preparing to play a soccer match. From the ground emerges a hyper-realistic reproduction of Donald Trump's head, which will soon be used as the game ball. The traditional Mexican music of Celso Piña and the gritty sounds of Rage Against the Machine set the pace for energetic soccer moves.A sport that conveys values of teamwork, community, and solidarity is transformed into an act of denunciation, a powerful cry of protest launched against a divisive economic system, the cause of inequalities and social malaise. Trump's political actions, unscrupulous and arrogant, find their antidote in the playful gesture of the game, in a free kick launched against all forms of authoritarianism.In an American context already dominated by totalizing financial and power dynamics, there is the disturbing racist drift fueled by Trump's emotional propaganda, a media concoction filled with xenophobia and a strongly polarized view of society.In Trump's words, there is indeed a tendency towards the dehumanization of Latinos, considered as a people of criminals and usurpers: when Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best... they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists, declared Trump during his election campaign. Furthermore, in his inaugural speech, there are worrying references to a Golden Age made of anti-ecological practices, attacks on medical science, homophobia, tariffs, and unacceptable social abuses.Reversing roles and positions, Eugenio Merino criticizes the roaring U.S. imperialism without censorship, highlighting the distortions carried out by a blind and unjustly violent policy. The Tijuana wall is the embodiment of this social hatred, a barrier between us and them, between citizens and migrants, between the privileged and the excluded, but also a geographical boundary that has turned into a physical and ideological imposition.The collective Indecline, founded in 2001 with an subversive and anti-capitalist imprint, proudly promotes a pure conscience ideal, oriented towards values such as justice and equality, often exposing themselves to censorship, sanctions, and even arrests. One of their most successful projects is Eugenio Merino's Freedom Kick. The hyper-realistic heads of Trump, Putin, and Bolsonaro have been part of performative actions in Brazil, Mexico, and the United States, often sparking the anger of those involved. President Bolsonaro himself showed live on TV the photos of his decapitated head openly expressing his displeasure.The collective joy and sense of community conveyed through soccer is linked to the dangerous games played by world leaders to the detriment of their populations. Art represents the temporal mark of this moment, documenting a challenge, eroding and disintegrating dogmas considered untouchable until now."We want to raise awareness, we want to inspire people to continue fighting," said the spokesperson. Every generation has the duty to pull the rope in the opposite direction. You can't sit back and be aware of what's happening in your country, and say you don't care, and say you care, and do absolutely nothing. It's our way of saying, “This is fucked" (Indecline).