Deborah Schamoni

What good are shrines and vows to maddened lovers? The inward fire eats the soft marrow away,
And the internal wound bleeds on in silence.

Virgil, The Aeneid, Book IV, Dido and Aeneas.

Inspired by Virgil’s description of the love between Dido and Aeneas, this exhibition explores the condition of heartbreak, often connected with the sense of a promise broken, of a love exploited, of a friendship gone awry. Heartbreak is an emotional state. For our purposes, the story of Dido and Aeneas is a fitting paradigm, as it touches aspects of grief and sorrow that go beyond personal distress. It exemplifies wider meanings, extending to land and country, fate and the sense of historical necessity.

Curated by Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo
Text: The Heartbreak Palace
Photos: The Heartbreak Palace