Doppelpack 

Editor: Here we have "Doppelpack", an acrylic painting, likely Pop Art, by Alfio Giuffrida. There are so many objects and shapes, it almost feels like looking into someone’s memory or attic! How do you interpret this work? Curator: It certainly plays with memory. Look how Giuffrida presents everyday objects— kitchenware, furniture—flattened and almost like hieroglyphs. Notice how they are rendered without shading, so each form carries equal weight? What effect does that have on you? Editor: It makes them feel very symbolic, or maybe like archetypes. Not these *specific* objects, but like a "generic" cup, plate, etc. What is the relationship of these common things? Curator: Precisely! This is the iconography of the domestic space. He isn’t showing us a real interior, but a constructed space built from collective memories and associations. What feeling do you get from this strange grouping of the “Doppelpack?” Editor: It's both familiar and strange. The combination creates a tension – perhaps reflecting how we relate to possessions themselves? They are part of our lives, and yet also, just things. Curator: Excellent! Giuffrida asks us to reconsider the symbolism of our possessions, suggesting a complex relationship between ourselves and the everyday objects that populate our lives and our minds. Editor: I see it! Thanks. I would never have considered it beyond abstraction otherwise, I would just focus on the shapes and how the elements are arranged. Curator: That initial response is important, keep that in mind while expanding the work through cultural memory.