Between June 16 and 25 I stayed in Poggibonsi, Siena, Tuscany, to paint on the occasion of the festival DOWN OF THE STREET 2017. The Bluetrain club, in connection with the Municipality, asked me to reclassify the walking tunnel in Largo Gramsci, a subway builted about 10 years ago that connects the old town to the new part of the city. Such a symbolic place for the inhabitants.
Two murals of about 3,5×13 meters each!
I worked on the subject of life and mortality and I created in 8 full hard days the artwork “To be passing”. The title is valid for both the murals. They look like different therefore the main meaning is the same.
The first painting, on the right wall coming from the Via Maestra, is anamorphic and mostly monochromatic. The correct point of view is on the 5th step on the way to the old town. I created 3 holes, such as burial plots. The first one (the biggest and the most distorted cause it is the most far from the point of view) contains a sleeping giant fetus who is keeping his umbilical cord. From the ceiling a light bulb hangs out. It has a fish inside. The second burial plot shows a man in a elegant but shabby dress. He is looking ouside and he seems lost in a tought. Between his legs you can see again the umbilical cord, just a little more rigid. People asked me a lot who he could represent and they tried to give him a known face (From Berlinguer to Karl Popper and many others) therefore I really didn’t want to portrait someone in particular, just a man after the midlife who is considering his personal sense thinking to death and memory. In the third plot you can only find the light bulb. It is on the pavement and it contains half liquid. The fish is no longer there. The umbilical cord, rigid as a branch, is passing by the plot and continues into the wall (to a unknown place). This last plot is the place of death, small in the painting but bigger from the right point of view (exactly the same size of the birth plot). I wanted to represent soul as a fish therefore I could also call it consciusness. Water is the memory and it can be also after our passing.
The second mural, colorful and oniric, shows 4 rooms without doors and small windows on the top. In the main room a girl with black shoes is coming out from a big bag. She looks at you (a scary sight) and she holds a two-faced disturbing fish. On the bottom some origami birds are keeping the bag open. The bag itself is surreal cause it cannot be closed (it has hooks that are not right from the closing space). Is the discovering moment of life with creativity mood. Anyway the subject is the same of the other mural. In her birth room she has a giant turtle floating (freedom and dreams) and from her adult room (empty except 12 white small stones) a black crow is coming to point out the changing of life throught growing. In her death room the light bulb still has the fish inside. That’s why the girl is living her present and she doesn’t consider her future moment of passing by.
Well, again the theme of identity, life, ontological ideas: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
For the painting of the child girl I asked help to my friend and collegue Andrea Libratti. He worked hard with me 6 days and evenings. His support was more than a help and I wish to thank him a lot here.
I want to thank also the Bluetrain club (these guys are amazing and we felt at home with them! Vincenzo, Spillo, Claudia, Andrea, Marco, Gilberto, Ilaria) and many people who appreciated our artworks expecially asking about the meaning I wanted to express.
The pictures with the Bluetrain logo are by Samantha Rivieccio and her crew. The others are by Andrea Zampatti (who also helped to paint!). Some others are mine and they are surely the worst ones 😀
