‘In balìa’ is a Cagliari terrace full of wind-markers that rotate, wave and sway, changing direction when the wind blows from west to east; it is a reflection of the iridescent water vibrating on the walled wall beside it, the refraction of light bent by the air and water. We, dazzled by the glare, do not know whether we are below or above, or whether we are the liquid itself, salty, fresh or brackish water, at the mercy of winds and currents, fragile as twigs in the wind.
From the intensity, one would say that it is better to follow the trend, to react from inertia, to let oneself be carried along, to adapt to the air currents, sea or thought, hot or cold, trendy or countercurrent. We sail on sight, ebb and flow, crowd in line, or movement. Depending on the air that is blowing, at the mercy of current events, we see which way the wind is blowing to see if it is in our favour or if we should cut in, or ask someone to take shelter with us, or if need be, to shield each other.
Sometimes we feel as if we are submerged, like wrecks, standing underwater, gasping for breath. But here, we can look around and see who else is there and what they are saying, whether we should together attempt a leap in favour of the wind, to see if we can breathe up, or stay hidden below, telling each other everything we can think of about the sea.