“We are passing the Pillars of Hercules”. The artist Luca Vitone sends us the logbook of his sailing voyage to Saint Helena

Italian artist Luca Vitone has embarked on a sailing voyage from the port of La Línea, near Gibraltar, toward the island of Saint Helena, as part of his project "Pro Tempore." After six years of preparation, Vitone and his crew—including commander Pier Bruno Morelli, sound engineer Alessandro Daniele, navigator Pietro Bertozzi, cinematographer Elvio Manuzzi, and writer Carlo Antonelli—set sail on the cutter Adriatica. The journey is supported by the Italian Council program, promoted by the Ministry of Culture's Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea, and by the Fondazione Oelle in Catania, led by president Ornella Laneri.

This project matters because it merges contemporary art with a physical, performative journey across the Atlantic, transforming the act of sailing into an artistic statement about time, displacement, and human endurance. By documenting the voyage through sound recordings, film, and narrative, Vitone expands the boundaries of installation and performance art, while also highlighting the role of institutional support from Italian cultural bodies. The work reflects a growing trend of artists using travel and exploration as both medium and metaphor, engaging with themes of history, colonialism, and personal odyssey.