Thinking like an Island by Camilla Marrese & Gabriele Chiapparini

In the exploration of isolated spaces by Gabriele Chiapparini and Camilla Marrese, there is a deep interplay between geography and identity, where the landscape itself becomes a mirror for the inner life of its inhabitants. The island, remote and seemingly self-contained, fosters an existence that oscillates between confinement and liberation.

Its physical boundaries reflect the emotional and psychological ones, and within these confines, people negotiate their place in a world that often feels cut off from broader narratives. The island’s isolation becomes both a space for reflection and a catalyst for complex social dynamics, as its residents live in the tension between their desire to stay and the lure of the unknown beyond.

This isolation, however, is not just a static condition. It is a dynamic process, where identity is constructed and reconstructed through the interactions between people, their histories, and their environment. The rhythms of everyday life, layered with history and personal choices, create a textured reality that defies simple categories. Here, individuality clashes with community, tradition with innovation, and the past with the ever-changing present. Chiapparini and Marrese emphasize how the island’s character emerges from this constant negotiation, a reflection of both personal confinement and collective resistance to external pressures.

At its core, this existence is an intricate, living system that resists easy definitions. It is neither utopia nor dystopia but a place where complexity thrives, and each day brings new layers of experience. The island becomes not just a physical space, but a space of ongoing transformation, where the logic of life is moveable and evolving. In Thinking like an Island, Chiapparini and Marrese present identity as something never fixed—it shifts and adapts, a vertiginous dance between the forces of isolation, connection, and the deep human need to belong.