Second Order Reality by Carola Bonfili, curated by Daniela Cotimbo and Ilaria Gianni, created in the natural spaces of the Spacco della Regina in Ansedonia. The project, promoted and produced by the smART Foundation, was created thanks to the support of the Italian Council (XI edition, 2022) and is intended for the collection of the MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome. In the cavities of the Spacco della Regina – a natural opening in the rock that winds from the sea to the heart of the hill above – a double sculptural and audiovisual installation by the artist Carola Bonfili finds its natural environment, always dedicated to the multilayered narration of reality through the wide range of technological languages made available by the contemporary era. 

The video work The Stone Monkey shows us, as in a videogame, the physical and allegorical journey of the little monkey M’ling and his helper Tanky Pear towards healing and self-acceptance, through a series of changing and dynamic realities and horizons. The sound element, created by Francesco D’Abbraccio, is an integral part of the project that envelops the environmental work. The concrete sculptures of the two protagonists, M’ling and Tanky Pear, bring the video experience back to physicality, showing themselves as action figures typical of the gaming universe. With them, real contact with the world narrated in the video installation occurs.