For my installation entitled “Roots Column” I used the roots of already cut olive trees, which I used to construct a column, driven by a humble aspiration to address the history of the place, the past and present. As I come from a similar region, and strive to examine the heritage that we carry with us, using this material that seems to me to carry the vital landscape of this country – and is perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when I think about it – seemed like a worthy approach. How strong is that connection with the country, both of the resident population and of those who come from the outside? Are these things fluid, or do we carry within us a column that we hold on to in our reasoning? What are the values that we incorporate into new environments? Do they lead to decadence, or do they build new, more optimistic spaces?
I believe that, if they are solid and healthy, or better yet - preserved, they serve as a code that gives us strength, and we are able to pass this material on in bits and pieces, but precious and significant bits and pieces for us as individuals. What we inherit does not just fall from the sky, nor are things simply handed over to us. No, they have to be obtained through effort, and inheritance is a much broader concept than its symbolic use/abuse. It is a value that every human being carries within, one that must not be abused or desecrated. It does not tie us down as blind followers of someone’s fantasies; rather, it serves as a primordial connection with ourselves, with a sense of the order of things, of unison.
When you create a sculpture, you are definitely creating a space, which is one of the reasons why I love three-dimensional work. It is not found or pre-packed; you think it. Yes, art requires thought, as well as something additional. This work was conceived for the location of the church that is now an abandoned facility, and which has been readapted several times. The work aims to obtain the necessary permits in the following period for exhibition in a space that can be characterised as belonging to a “non-place”.

In Genoa, 2023