Raphia embroidery 4 Print

The composition call back natural elements: a mountain, a hill or a grass in a meadow. On the right side raffia shapes recalls water and its reflections. A rhomboid form is created with the combination of small holes and lines of raffia sewn only at one end, which they rise up spontaneously from the surface like sprouts. The holes on the canvas allow the passage of organic material from one side to the other and all around the surface, recalling a multidimensionality. This work is part of the Raphia embroidery series. It is inspired by quantum physics and oriental philosophies, as well by Fontana and Maria Lai. About Raphia embroidery series... Raffia is a strong fiber that is obtained from the leaves of trees with a robust trunk, even 20 meters high. The raffia plant is a palm, its natural habitat is the tropical and subtropical of East Africa. The known species are 20, and all are characterized by their ability to flower and bear fruit only once in their life, and then die. However, once the stem has dried up, the plant multiplies again. In my artistic works, it is important to use organic and everyday materials coming directly from Mother Nature, which are able to preserve themselves over time. In this case raffia, which has characteristics similar to those of straw, is a material that has always been part of my daily life because it is used in agriculture and gardening that my family has always taken care of. (Its characteristics have recently been re-evaluated also by green building for its anti-seismic resistance and high resistance to fire). The raffia embroideries of my works closely resemble those of straw which have very ancient origins in the world. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, it was a very common technique as an imitation of gold embroidery, used to enrich the sumptuous clothing of religious statues with the purpose of enhancing the blessing and protection of crops. Later it was used as a technique to decorate clothes, shoes and accessories of noble families. The activity of embroidery has assumed a certain importance within my artistic research. It intrinsically preserves its noble and spiritual origins and also i have found that embroidering is a meditative process for me. The whole focus is the action of embroidering itself, which brings the mind back into a continuous state of presence. The landscapes are reminiscent of natural places without a precise location, consequently enclosing the possibility of being in any place or nowhere. They're sons, like everyone, of the infinite space-time.