Flaminio Station II

Flaminio Station (2016–2018) is a series of works Samma conceived after his Roman residency. These graffiti-covered ceramic pieces resemble the
bright yellow tiles that cover the shabby public toilet at Flaminio Station, which is one of the last un-modernized in Rome, and once upon a time, a popular cruising site, although the rise of dating apps has undeniably led to a decline in this activity. Samma documented the writing and graffiti he found there and then copied them onto ceramic surfaces to recreate parts of the toilet’s walls, mounted them in iron frames, and crowned them with a curtain of
rubber toilet pulls that give these pieces an old-fashioned appearance while “discreetly” screening (or emphasizing?) the graffiti. The Flaminio Station
series provokes conflicting reactions in the viewer, oscillating between irony, urban archaeology, and voyeuristic impulse. Decontextualized from the
original setting, it stands as a tranche de vie that simultaneously looks familiar and awkward.