Carola Bonfili: The Stone Monkey

The Stone Monkey is a project by Carola Bonfili in partnership with The Green Parrot and La Capella. Part of the Concentric programme, the project will also feature in the Loop Festival 2023.

The Stone Monkey is a work in two multimedia narrative formats: a CGI (computer-generated imagery) video trailer and a navigable virtual reality environment. It tells of the travels of a small monkey who suddenly notices that some of his body parts are slowly turning to stone for no apparent reason and so he embarks on a journey that begins his healing process. The work is part of Second Order Reality, a project that plans to create a videogame inspired by Gustave Flaubert’s novel The Temptation of St. Anthony.

The book is of interest here due to the description of the repeated hallucinations experienced by its main character, St. Anthony. It is possible to draw associations in some respects between these liminal states and virtual experiences in which the perception of the body and the surrounding environment are altered. The resulting story also emerges from collaboration with a group of children in workshops and explores the potential of the virtual realm for involving visitors in a hybrid perceptual experience.

It will take place on the weekend of 18 and 19 November in the central space of La Capella and will consist of an exhibition plus virtual reality experience and a workshop for families. Afterwards, the exhibition will remain on display in La Capella’s Espai Vestíbul from 28 November until 10 December.

The project is supported by The Green Parrot and the Italian Council.