A work of "functional art" that combines gender freedom, safe sex, and eco-sustainability in Naples' first Queer Social Bar. Art takes the field by handing out free condoms.
NAPLES - Is called “FREE BUT SAFE” (Free but Protected) the new installation site-specific created by the artist Marianna Vittorioso for the Free ID Bar, the first Queer Social Bar in the city of Naples. The work is not just a visual element, but a true "functional art" device that invites the public to reflect on freedom, love, and responsibility towards oneself and others.
THE CONCEPT: FREE BUT PROTECTED
“FREE BUT SAFE” expresses a broad and necessary concept: there are no barriers that limit sexual identity or love, but there are obligations towards ourselves and our partners, even in casual encounters. The artist explicitly underlines the importance of condom as a tool for protection from sexually transmitted infections, transforming prevention into an artistic and daily gesture.
THE WORK: INTERACTIVITY AND MATERIALS
The installation unfolds along the walls of the venue through an eclectic and powerful visual path. Made with recycled materials, newspaper clippings, Lego, fairy-tale characters and toy soldiers with their faces painted white (symbol of a war that is consciously chosen to Not begin), the complete work plexiglass cubes containing free condoms.
Citizens are invited to interact directly with art: those who observe, thanks to fragments of mirror set between colours and messages of sex positivity, sees his own face reflected and understands that he is the true protagonist. The viewer feels "obliged" to take the condom, but "free" to go and make love using it. The work also sends a strong message of eco-sustainability: after safe sex, protect the environment. The artist reminds us that condoms should be thrown in the unsorted waste and never in the toilet.
THE “LOVE WITH LOVE – NUN T'Ò SCURDÀ!” PROJECT”
The installation is part of a larger artistic and social project, conceived by Marianna Vittorioso and entitled “LOVE WITH LOVE – don't worry!”. Sponsored by Antinoo Arcigay Naples and from Municipality of Naples, The project aims to make a concrete contribution to the city's public health. The goal is to bring contemporary art out of museums and into public spaces, creating targeted communication channels and making available free condoms daily, overcoming the logic of episodic distribution. Therefore, all the problems related to the cost and free distribution of condoms remain, which should be guaranteed especially for younger people.
THE “FREE CONDOM POINTS” IN NAPLES
Marianna Vittorioso is creating a network of installations that act as free-condom-point in various neighborhoods of the city, guaranteeing coverage both for areas and time slots.
Free condoms can currently be collected from the following locations:
- VOMERO: Every day (10:00 – 01:00) in Via Kerbaker 19, at RIOT Concept Store, from the installation “THE RIOT FOR LOVE!”.
- HISTORICAL CENTER: From Tuesday to Sunday (from 5.30 pm) in Via Calata Trinità Maggiore 47, at Tools Bar, from the installation “USE THE RIGHT TOOLS!”.
- HISTORICAL CENTER: Thursday, Friday and Saturday (from 7pm) in Vico San Geronimo 17, at FREEID BAR, from the installation “FREE BUT SAFE!”.
With this project, Marianna Vittorioso transforms art into a tool for scientific dissemination and a multifaceted social message: preventive healthcare, gender freedom, recycling, and eco-sustainability merge into a single, powerful gesture of love.
