The Story of a Myth from Antiquity to Contemporary Art
From October 11 2025 to 15 February 2026, Doge’s Apartment and Chapel

Moby Dick – The Whale. The Story of a Myth from Antiquity to Contemporary Art is the major exhibition project inspired by the eponymous novel by Herman Melville, designed for the monumental spaces of the Palazzo Ducale. The exhibition takes its cues from the many analyses and interpretations contained within this 19th-century American masterpiece: the relationship between man and nature; the conflict between good and evil; feelings of passion and revenge; the coexistence of marine beings and humans; and the theme of journey and discovery, understood both as passages of the inner self and of external experience. Cesare Pavese, the first Italian translator of the novel, writes in the preface to the 1941 edition: “Achab pursues Moby Dick out of thirst for vengeance, it’s clear, but as often happens in any infatuation with hatred, the desire to destroy almost seems like a desire to possess, to know.”

Reading Moby Dick is a titanic task due to the contamination of various literary genres that coexist and intertwine together through seductive and precise prose. The novel of Moby Dick is, in fact, also a zoological and whaling treatise, a hymn to adventure, obsession, and possession, all accompanied by a keen eye on 19th-century society and a biblical aura that accompanies it from the very beginning. With the famous line “Call me Ishmael” and “God created the whales,” Melville opens the novel, only to close it, like a perfect circle, with a verse from the Book of Job: “And I alone have escaped to tell thee.”This novel can be defined as a “world-work,” a “whale-work” (consider that “whale” reminds us of the word “whole,” meaning “whole, entire”), in which Melville pours a multiverse of facts, experiences, and lived moments onto the pages, documenting the conflicts between fate (chance), freedom, and necessity (physical mechanisms and fatal destiny).

Starting from these multiplicities, Moby Dick – The Whale aims to create an exhibition path that guides the visitor through the artistic universe generated by the novel, ranging from ancient art to contemporary art, from the history of navigation to illustration, and even to design. It is a journey through historical epochs, perspectives, reinterpretations, and adaptations that stem from this classic of American literature, which still fascinates artists, readers, and scholars today. The proposed project aims to observe and present the multidisciplinary panorama that Moby Dick and the White Whale have generated, starting from visual art and extending to music, cinema, theater, science, and biology, all through the lens of literature.Moby Dick, Captain Ahab’s quest for vengeance, and his crew will thus also intertwine with the maritime history of the city of Genoa and its sea: the Cetacean Sanctuary.

The general public, upon entering the exhibition, will embark on an adventure encountering ancient works; collectible objects that tell the story of the obsession with whaling; design objects inspired by the forms and decorations of the whale; graphics and illustrations, as well as videos by international artists, installations, and contemporary works that will stimulate, in an experiential way, a significant cultural debate, exploring themes like identity, power, nature, and the relationships between humans.

Inspired by some chapters of the book, the exhibition is divided into different sections:

• Obsession with Moby Dick, a book translated worldwide
• Whales: painted; on bone; on wood; on iron plates; on stone
• Jonah and the Whale, the history and the myth; monstrous depictions of whales
• The Whiteness of the Whale
• Sunset; twilight; first night watch and the stars
• The Butchering
• The Squid
• The Sound of Whales

Moby Dick – The Whale. The Story of a Myth from Antiquity to Contemporary Art thus stands as a great cultural incubator that, starting from art and literature, offers an opportunity for exchange and in-depth exploration of contemporary issues such as the predatory relationship with the environment, scientific discoveries, the history of the seas, and consumption, all of which revolve around the theme, making it universal.

The experiences mentioned here will be further explored through a rich and varied program of conferences, designed to engage different audiences, a structured educational program for families and students, as well as guided tours and thematic workshops. This grand meta-historical exhibition aims to pay tribute to the legacy of Herman Melville, but also to actively stimulate a dialogue on urgent and contemporary issues, thereby contributing to the growth of the cultural and intellectual heritage of the community.

Among the contemporary artists featured in the exhibition: John Akomfrah, Wu Tsang, Guy Ben-ner, Mark Dion, Teresa Solar, A Constructed Word, Joan Jonas, Roberto Cuoghi, Marzia Migliora, Pino Pascali, Claudia Losi, Emilio Isgrò, Carsten Holler, Thomas Ruff, Fausto Melotti, Piero Manzoni, Dadamaino.

The exhibition will be accompanied by the publication of a book featuring contributions from other disciplines.

The exhibition is part of the Genova e l’Ottocento year, sponsored by the Municipality of Genoa.

Curated by Ilaria Bonacossa and Marina Avia, in collaboration with TBA21-Ocean Space.