As slipping out of the cloth of constantly fluttering flags, heraldic symbols take form and weight. Chimerical beings and oneiric figures appear, like leafing through an armorial or medieval bestiary. They seem to tell us stories of conflicts which took place in the well delimited perimeter of an emblematic battlefield.
In ancient times, graphic marks and colour combinations showed up on the armours in response to the military need to identify opposite factions during fights. This is how the coats of arms originated, a system of signs, shapes and colours organized in a form, often that of a shield. They were used to reveal, according to a precise sign alphabet, the identity of a person, a family, a whole community. In the form of vivid colours and fantastic beasts, those emblems hint at political tensions, expressions of belonging, dominance and power.
ARA! ARA! is the designation of a symbol. The symbol of a rising power that chooses a bird to represent itself. Not a majestic and fearsome raptor like the eagle, an animal often used as a heraldic symbol of power. On the contrary, a bird that communicates fun and quietness by becoming, according to a popular Western view, an exotic icon: the parrot ARA. It was introduced to the circus for its acrobatic abilities which, together with the bright colours of its plumage and the ability to repeat sounds and words by imitation, made it a perfect animal for entertainment in captivity.
ARA! ARA! represents a seductive power for its friendly and festive appearance that, like the bird, imitates and repeats, bringing back patterns from the past, ignoring contents and effects.

Second part of a diptych started with AeReA, ARA! ARA! continues investigating the symbolic power of the flag, drawing on the folkloristic tradition of flag waving.
Present in both titles, the word ARA reveals a second meaning that alludes to the ancient place of sacrifice, here meant as a mechanism generating death, inflicted as a gift to those who were recognized the highest power.

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The duo in on stage at the Passages Transfestival 2023 “Transitalia” with the choreographic diptych AeReA | ARA! ARA! and the video Silver Veiled, the works focused on the object ‘flag’.