A metaphor for global tourism, but also a symbol for the precarious nature of today’s world, the installation Short Cut (2003) describes a universe in movement that travels along endless, unpredictable paths towards fanciful destinations. For their first public project in Italy, the two artists also chose to tackle local stereotypes: the car is a run-of-the-mill white Fiat Uno with Naples plates, and on the dash one can see a map of Rimini. The Turin-based automobile manufacturer—going through a serious crisis at the time of the exhibition—and the seaside resort on the Adriatic coast are both classic images of Italian popular culture. The first impression of passers-by is that they have come across an accident scene: the floor is cracked and the wheels of the car are stuck among shards of the mosaic. Short Cut sparks reactions and debate throughout the city; animated clusters of people gather around the installation, and the national and international press publishes stories with photos of the piece. On the morning that the exhibition opens, the traffic police leave a ticket on the car for parking in an unauthorized area, and two members of the city council ask for it to be removed; to demonstrate their disapproval, they stage a protest in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, eating a pizza next to the installation.