Who is ID8470? – Tal Adler

Placeholder placeholder – Fragile Power departs from a restoration scenario: the original bronze bell of the former House of the Fascist Party in Predappio — birthplace of Benito Mussolini — is removed from its tower and replaced with a precision replica crafted entirely from crystal glass. The original electromagnetic striking mechanism, intact since the 1930s, is restored and reattached. A remote activation system, housed in a custom leather briefcase, is handed over to political leadership at the building’s ceremonial reopening. The work operates within the affirmative, celebratory language of institutional heritage promotion, presenting the completed installation without interpreting its consequences.

Black and white photo of Palazzo Braschi iand two adjacent buildings. Mussolini's effigy and an all-over repetition of 'SI SI SI' cover the building's facade. Text label reads Palazzo Braschi, Rome, 1934.

Glass bell with Fascist decorations against blue sky.

Woman in a 70s style room looking upwards with a small smile. AI generated.

Leather briefcase with all-over Italian flag pattern displayed on a white circular platform. AI generated.

Pieces of thick broken glass on a backlit bubble wrap surface.

Large modernist building with a tower, some of the windows are broken.

Bronze bell hanging from a rusty metal structure, shot from below.

Landscape scene in evening sunset colors. In the distance, a small village in a valley surrounded by mountains.

Fragile Power was commissioned by the Co.Co.War. Dissonant Heritage and War. Conservation and Communication of a Difficult Legacy – a research project funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research. The work was presented at the Co.Co.War Final Conference and Exhibition, Castello del Valentino, Turin, February 2026.