THE CROCODILE’S LAMENT: RECLAIMING THE RIVER, RESHAPING THE NARRATIVE

The Crocodile’s Lament is a groundbreaking project by Lanfranco Aceti that confronts the environmental and cultural crises of our time. Created in collaboration with Tevereterno, IPER Festival delle Periferie, organized by the Azienda Speciale Palexpo, and supported by curators Giorgio de Finis (Museo delle Periferie), Rosario Pavia (Tevereterno), and Alessandro Melis (NYIT), this ambitious three-part series delves into the contested history, present, and future of one of Italy’s most iconic rivers: the Tiber.

Blending art, history, linguistics, and activism, Aceti challenges the commodification of natural resources and cultural heritage in the modern era. Through layered narratives, the artist revisits ancient matriarchal deities associated with water, juxtaposing their nurturing, life-giving symbolism against the current capitalist reduction of rivers into economic commodities. This tension—between reverence and exploitation, between memory and erasure—lies at the heart of The Crocodile’s Lament. Inspired by Virgil’s writings on the “blonde Tiber,” Aceti reimagines the river as a lamenting entity, entwined with Rome’s millennia-long history and its contemporary ecological challenges. Through installations and performances, the project critiques humanity’s exploitation of natural resources, aligning the river’s plight with the broader global crisis of environmental neglect.

The Tiber becomes a powerful symbol of Italy’s identity in this work, dissecting how cultural and environmental legacies are eroded under the imperialistic pressures of Disneyfication and McDonaldization. Once a sacred artery of Rome’s societal and spiritual life, the Tiber now risks becoming a hollowed-out spectacle or mere sewage canal. The artworks call for the reclamation of public spaces and cultural commons, urging collective acknowledgment of the damage caused by unchecked consumerism, Anglo-Saxon imperialism, and environmental neglect.

Structured in three chapters—The Home of the Crocodile, The Crocodile’s Lament, and A River of Crocodile Tears—this project mirrors the environmental and cultural transformations that rivers worldwide are undergoing. Aceti’s crocodile serves as a symbolic guide, lamenting humanity’s detachment from nature while embodying resilience and adaptability. Slated for completion in December 2025, the series asks provocative questions: What have we lost in our pursuit of progress? What can we reclaim if we choose to act now? How can we escape the hollow simulacrum of interactive entertainment to effect real change?

Curators Giorgio de Finis, Rosario Pavia, and Alessandro Melis enrich the project with their diverse expertise in environmental, urban, and artistic landscapes, bridging academic research, curatorial innovation, and public engagement. Collaborations with Tevereterno and IPER Festival delle Periferie amplify the resonance of Aceti’s work, situating it within broader dialogues on urban peripheries, sustainability, and cultural transformation.

At its core, The Crocodile’s Lament transcends the boundaries of an exhibition. It reimagines the Tiber not just as a historical and ecological entity but as a living archive of memory, culture, and resistance. By revisiting the river’s past as the Goddess Albula and tracing its ideological transformations across millennia, Aceti critiques the fragility of the systems sustaining life and civilization. His visual language—rooted in symbolism, storytelling, and activism—issues a rallying cry to protect the Tiber and universal rivers threading through human history and identity.

As The Crocodile’s Lament nears its completion, it reminds us to view rivers not as relics of the past or resources to exploit but as enduring witnesses to cultural legacies and environmental struggles. Aceti reclaims the voice of the river, demonstrating that while the forces of capital may erode landscapes and legacies, the collective imagination and action can carve new channels for hope and renewal.

For further reading, explore the artist’s research essay, A Trans Called Tiber: From Nazi-Fascism and Digital Amnesia to Misinterpretations of Gender Theory.