Winner of the “Show and Tell” contest at ArtePadova
Exhibited on the occasion of Studi Festival 2016
“Sei davvero capace di vedere oltre? (“Are you really able to see beyond?”) , 2016, presents itself as a surface dense with minute elements, seemingly chaotic, whose overall composition recalls the textured surfaces of Informal Art, where the focus is primarily on the materiality of the work. The perception of the piece changes depending on the lighting.
The abstract texture, visible under warm light, is created using elements from human life—materials such as hair, body hair, fragments of dead skin cells, but also other residues from domestic environments like dust, crumbs, and fabric lint.
The evolution of this work later led to the project "cycle was exhibited", which explored these surfaces through an optical instrument, allowing for a deeper reading of the "microcosms" contained within those tangled filaments and dust particles. Almost instinctively, the "cosmic" direction seemed inevitable, and its connection was anything but coincidental.
Through this transformation in perception, the question emerges: "Sei davvero capace di vedere oltre? (“Are you really able to see beyond?)". This inquiry only reveals itself under the right lighting, unveiling a clear message within a composition of elements that evoke the darkness and vastness of the cosmos. A symbol of infinity and the unknown, where chaos and harmony coexist in an equilibrium that only appears random. It is an emblem of human smallness in the face of immensity—or rather, the infinity—of the sky.
Since ancient times, humanity has always had to confront overwhelming scales that defined its insignificance before creation, even before understanding creationism. One could say it is an ultimate act of awareness of one’s own finiteness and fragility compared to the greater components of the world that, in some way, belong to us and nourish us. Unfortunately, this awareness does not always find its appropriate reflection in human action.
The artwork presents itself as a space to be traversed not only with the gaze but also with the body. Its possible mode of interaction—walking barefoot on it, as if it were a carpet—evokes a sensory experience that pushes beyond the instinctive barrier of rejection. The contact with a material that is both familiar and unsettling encourages a reflection on the need to overcome deep-seated mental constructs and prejudices. A sort of purification of vision and perception, an invitation to reconsider what we believe we already know.
Here is an installation of the work, exhibited alongside "Visione Olometabolica (Holometabolic Vision)" during the 2016 exhibition Presa in Carico (Taking Charge).