This is the last painting I made in Brazil and which I brought with me to Italy. I’ve recently revamped the framework, going back to working on it for the exhibition Souls in Abstraction at the Fort of Gavi.
It is the first painting in which I have added paint, in this case in oil. I would wake up early in the morning to paint the sunrise and go to the roof in the afternoon to paint the sunset. Before my works were made only of collage, the scissors were my brush.
In Brazil, I learned to crochet from the old women of the village where I lived, in Itaparica, Bahia. I began to make bikinis, hats and crochet bags on commission, in parallel with works to hang which I then gave away or sold to whoever wanted them. I often integrated the remains of crochet work into my works.
The collages were made from recycled materials, such as wood, bark, fabric and other materials I found.
I made this painting on a large wooden table that I found abandoned in a courtyard in Fortaleza, Cearà, the last place I lived in Brazil before returning to Italy. It was not flat, but crooked . However, I found a way to fix it so that it can be hung.
The collage style I had created was dictated by the need to create and express myself, and by the scarcity of materials. I mainly used materials that I had available and that I found around, in the forest and on the beach. Nature provided me with an abundance of materials such as bark, shells and I used fabrics a lot, which was my favorite material at the time.
Since I returned to Italy, for convenience, I mainly use paper, wood or canvas.
My initial search was for the meaning of existence through symbols.
Now I no longer need to search, because I already have all the answers. Also because now I’m not looking for philosophical answers about existence, but I know that everything is already connected and integrated within me.
Size: 76 x 100cm. Available on Saatchi Art
