Air breathing us
wooden case, glass, raw clay bowls, seeds, hazlenut wood, leaves and rope, two photographs on cotton paper
70 x 45 x 10 cm
June 2023
NAHR residency, Bergamo
wooden case, glass, raw clay bowls, seeds, hazlenut wood, leaves and rope, two photographs on cotton paper
70 x 45 x 10 cm
June 2023
NAHR residency, Bergamo
The project focuses on the exploration of the most untouchable natural element, air, with the intention of making it tangible through a new ritual: the ritual to be intended as the complex of norms which determine the unfolding of a sacral act. This happens through seeds: as a matter of fact, 90% of seeds in the valley are spread through the wind, and thanks to the help of locals, the artist was able to collect a great amount of seeds of different species.
She then recycled materials from the valley in order to build six structures made of wooden sticks, beeswax, rope and clay bowls and she took care of each material: she peeled off the bark and applied beeswax, she braided the rope and she created the raw clay bowls. After that, she positioned the structures that have the aim of hosting the seeds she collected during the residency around the village, choosing places where seeds could fly and sprout. Seeds are allies that help the artist in the gestuality. While she started the process, wind will have the responsibility to finish the work, and it will spread seeds of Elleborus niger (Christmas rose), Ilex cassine (Holly), Salvia pratensis (Wild sage), Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion), Fragaria vesca (Wild strawberries), Leucanthetum vulgare (Common daisy), Silene vulgaris (Stridoli), Triticum dicoccon (Spelt), Triticum (Hay), Mixed fiorume, Lactuca sativa (Red salad), Rosa canina (Wild rose), Zea mais (Black and red mais), Cucurbita (Round squash) with the aim of making visible the fundamental circle of life for the valley’s biodiversity.
During the day of the ritual on the 25th of June 2023, the artist rang a typical bell from the place to call people to join the procession and with them she went around the village to put the smalls bowls inside the structures she created.
