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Matteo Bettini

Media, Graphic, Ecology, Archives, Analytical

Matteo Bettini is an independent visual artist focused on geo-spatial dynamics and narratives surrounding information. Throughout his career, he has cultivated a fascination with cartographic and diagrammatic representations, delving into their capacity to bridge language, imagery, and the intricate realities of territories. Matteo's practice centers on unraveling the hidden narratives embedded within data, engaging with the ethical and political implications of their collection, visualization, and dissemination. His approach emphasizes the need for critical reflection on how data shapes perceptions of space, culture, and power structures. With a focus on design and storytelling, his work aims to not only make information accessible but also inspire conversations about the societal and environmental dimensions of data visualization and representation.

22.86x11.43x11.43 (2025)
22.86x11.43x11.43 (2025) - "22.86 x 11.43 x 11.43" is a project and ongoing research that materialized in 18 jaquard-weaved textiles of different sizes. The research behind these pieces focuses on a rock formation in northeastern Piedmont, measured in "22.86 x 11.43 x 11.43". This rock vanished from the landscape at the end of the last century after it was cut to extract its valuable material. Today, it exists only through dispersed urban artifacts and as a name on a map, marking where it once stood. Through retracing the rock's existence, the project aims to reinterpret the complex relationship between local inhabitants and nature, its capturing layered significance: from an untouched natural artifact to a sacred monument, and its transformation into an exploitable and measurable resource. The tapestries preserve and reinterpret the story through new interpretations of archival materials, local legends about the rock, its Google Maps location, panoramic views and other elements. This is a self-initiated project that I developed together with Sonia Gorecka. Together with her I developed the concept, researched the archive material, went on field research and finally designed the textiles. The project have been supported by crowdfunding and matchfunded by Het Cultuurfonds.
Fragments of Democracy - All-In, Bonn Exhibition (2024)
Fragments of Democracy (2024) - Fragments of Democracy is a series of diagrammatic sculptures that explore the role of data visualization in today's political and environmental discourse. Using hundreds of open-access datasets, the works transform complex information into layered, physical forms–objects that resemble tools, relics, or speculative technologies. Rather than aiming for clarity, there sculptures evoke ambiguity, inviting viewers to question how data is framed, interpreted, and deployed.
The Gas Route (2023-2024)
The Gas Route (2023-2024) - For decades, natural gas in Europe has been an invisible yet essential part of everyday life—arriving in homes from an undefined elsewhere, its infrastructure largely hidden from view. While recent political tensions have made aspects of this network more visible, much of it remains abstract and out of sight, despite its deep impact on landscapes, borders, and economies. This project investigates the historical process through which gas infrastructure has been both physically embedded and symbolically erased from public consciousness. Using cartographic and promotional materials released by ENI—one of Europe's largest state-owned oil and gas companies—the project traces shifting narratives around gas, from its early celebration as a clean alternative to coal, to its current role as a politically frail and environmentally outdated resource. The research developed through three main components: A book combining archival imagery and cartographic analysis with a written history of the infrastructure's emergence and disappearance. A two-week field trip following parts of the gas network across different regions, documenting its traces and absences in the landscape. A short film weaving together footage from the journey, maps, and historical materials to reflect on how energy infrastructure shapes perception, territory, and political imagination.
A great place for a ride (2022)
A great place for a ride (2022) - A Great Place for a Ride is a short film centered around a fictional character—Miguel, a motorbike enthusiast raised near the National Forest of Leiria in Portugal. Combining staged footage with a narrative constructed from Google Maps comments and an offline interview, the work follows Miguel as he rides his quad through the forest, casually sharing his personal knowledge of the area. Leiria's forest is often celebrated for its natural beauty and national importance, yet Miguel's account reveals a more complex and layered landscape. His narrative unfolds in three chapters, each rooted in a recurring theme: [the sand – the greatness], exploring the forest's origin as a man-made barrier planted by royal decree to protect inland regions; [the fires – the beauty], referring to today's recurring wildfires, which Miguel sees as inevitable consequences of political corruption; and [the wood – the pride], highlighting the historical role of the forest in providing timber for Portugal's naval expansion. While these narratives echo broader ideas of national pride and ecological significance, Miguel ultimately sees the forest in more personal terms—a space for leisure and escape, shaped by memory, hearsay, and his own lived experience. A Great Place for a Ride reflects on how landscapes are framed by storytelling, shifting between fact and fiction, history and present use, pride and neglect.
Strategic Futures (2022)
Strategic Futures (2022) - By strategic futures, also referred to as critical futures, is meant future prospects and narratives essential for economic and national security, but based on a limited supply with no known alternatives. A series of documents recounts the procedure undertaken by the company Strategic Minerals to obtain authorization to search for cobalt-silver and associated minerals at the former 'Punta Corna' mine site in north-western Italy. Through a comparison of the presented contents of the company, oriented towards sustainability and so-called green energy, and those of a number of local archaeological and environmental protection associations that would like the work to be suspended, the current European strategy regarding the extraction of critical minerals and a broader reflection on global mining exploitation are presented. The use of a wood board, a tipical communication media present in the alps area to release official information to citizen and general public, remind the geographical and cultural context this story is taking place and exist as a hybrid between a hiking informative board (side with map) and an official bureaucratic wall to hang documents.

Ultra Paesaggio Continuo [Workshop]

Date:
Location: Circolo Del Design
In association with: 4KHD

Ultra Paesaggio Continuo is a two day bike-based workshop format investigating the intertwined relationship between images and space. During this specific workshop we slowly explored and critically observed the urban structure of Turin and various problematic aspects related to traffic and mobility. We did it by using several video manipulation tool created on purpose for the workshop and created different images to better understand the city.

https://circolodeldesign.it/evento/ultra-paesaggio-continuo-photo-finish-e-osservatori-mobili/

Emergence [Exhibition]

Date:
Location: Palazzo Bronzo
In association with: Sonia Gorecka

"Emergence" is a group exhibition curated by Luca Conte and Martina Montagna, held at the independent cultural center Palazzo Bronzo in Genoa. The exhibition brought together a range of artistic practices exploring the complex relationship between place, history, and cultural intersectionality. I participated with the project "22.86x11.43x11.43" – a series of textile works created in collaboration with artist Sonia Gorecka.

https://readymag.website/palazzobronzo/home/

Ultra Paesaggio Continuo [Workshop]

Date:
In association with: 4KHD

Ultra Paesaggio Continuo is a two day bike-based workshop format investigating the intertwined relationship between images and space. During this specific workshop we slowly explored and critically observed the heavily exploited agricultural landscapes of Prosecco's hills. We did it by using different cameras and video manipulation tools created on purpose for the workshop and experiment other ways to collect images of landscape while slowly moving.

All in! Re-Designing Democracy [Exhibition]

Date:
Location: Bundeskunsthalle
In association with: Studio Folder

I took part in "All in! Re-Designing Democracy" in collaboration with Studio Folder for the creation of the work "Fragments of Democracy".

https://www.bundeskunsthalle.de/en/demokratie

Anti-Navigation Tools [Workshop]

Date:
In association with: EKA - Estonian Academy of Arts

We created a series of paper maps and annotation sheets designed as low-tech navigation tools for exploring Berlin. Moving away from GPS dependency, these materials invite participants to read and move through the city based on personal interpretation, curiosity, and sensory orientation. The project encourages a slower, more subjective experience of urban space, offering an alternative to standardized, goal-oriented navigation.

https://stand-in.eka-gd-ma.ee/

Racconti dai margini dell’urbanizzazione [Symposium]

Date:
Location: Università Statale di Milano
In association with: Società Studi Geografici

I participated in the "Racconti dai margini dell'urbanizzazione" session at the Political Ecology and Geography Conference held at Università Statale di Milano in June 2023. I presented "The Gas Route" with a 12-minute lecture and a preview of the short film. The project examines the historical and spatial disappearance of gas infrastructure in Europe, using archival materials and field research to explore its political and geographical implications.

This artist has no awards yet.