MAMbo presents “The Cute and the Useful”, a medium-length film by The Cool Couple produced by Careof with the support of Italian Council (8th edition, 2020) and now part of the museum's collection.

“The Cute and the Useful” takes its title from an expression used to identify animal species likely to survive the current mass extinction due to their emotional or economic ties to humans. This is a key theme for The Cool Couple (Niccolò Benetton and Simone Santilli): through this project, which includes a video work and a publication edited by NERO, the artists delve into the ambiguous relationship between nature and the market and the impact of commodification on our perception of the wild.

The film explores the contradictions of the conservation industry in South Africa: a neoliberal system that turns species like lions, elephants, and rhinos into luxury goods and stages a version of “nature” increasingly removed from its original conception, reconstructing an idea of the natural environment that serves economic purposes. “The Cute and the Useful” offers an ironic yet powerful reflection on how the concept of usefulness shapes our view of the natural world, making the wild part of a new aesthetic and a value system driven by consumption.

The Cool Couple’s research examines what they call “territorial machines” – socio-economic structures that codify and privatize organic and animal life while simultaneously shaping the collective imagination.

The screening is followed by a conversation with the artists, in dialogue with Lorenzo Balbi, MAMbo director, and moderated by Arnold Braho and Marta Cereda, curators.