From hypercomics comes Valerio Maria Ferrari’s project for the interior of the Maison des Adolescents - ethnopsychiatry outpatients’ clinic for adolescents - Casita. With the Casita project Valerio Maria Ferrari tackles the delicate issue of juvenile psychiatric distress, transforming the architectural theme in "infinite possible narratives”. When I was asked to intervene in the interior of the Casita, my goal was to broaden the perception of the space of the clinic by creating a virtual space, he says.
Ferrari started with linguistic instruments common to almost all the world’s adolescents: comics, especially hypercomics. Hypercomics are a new generation of comics that blend digital innovations, sound, animation, and hypertext using the modes of representation typical of comics. By combining them in different ways, they could give rise to endlessly new and surprising tales and stories. Situations and characters were then printed on panels of irregular forms and various sizes.
The complete apparatus with all the panels has become a permanent installation that Casita’s operators manage on their own, moving, concealing and placing the panels in different rooms by means of plugs attached to the walls of the clinic. The panels are backed by straps are therefore easily moved from one place to another with a simple push or pull. Since it was installed in a public place, absolute simplicity in moving the panels and at the same time their strength and safety were essential to the success of the project, says Ferrari.
