HUMUS

It belongs to all the mythological stories written by humans about their birth and that of creation, about the conception of a being, and the eternal union of love. An extremely reduced and simplified form, yet overloaded with symbolism, paired with a material that is common, yet one that every human being has touched and experienced. It requires long and laborious craftsmanship, destined not to lose the "artisan quality" of the art, much of which has been lost over time. The creative process is a slow and lengthy ritual, composed of simple materials and gestures. Works created in this way become immortal, because even if destroyed, they return to the earth from which they originated, generating an infinite life cycle.

To know this material, to learn to play with the mixture, to feel its weight, the temperature of the water, to distinguish woodland soil from farmland, and to understand the right proportion of elements according to the need—these gestures somehow connect to distant cultures, reviving an ancient tradition. For the first time in my life, I felt I was carrying forward a piece of culture that has belonged to us for centuries and that still lives on today, among the deserts and in the remote areas we call the Third World, blending with its inhabitants and the environment. Portal of space and time.

Materials: Raw Earth and Wrought Iron
Single Dimensions: 150 x 80 x 70 cm
Location: Bologna, 2019

© photo: Giorgia Ponti