by Ilaria Ferri

I believe that a work of art is an object that in the presence of the other person's gaze becomes a thing. Man has this wonderful ability, to transfer and project thoughts onto an object. My work is to let others share my discoveries in the unknown, leaving everyone free to shipwreck with me or to stay on the shore and wait.

You participated to the COMEL Award, taking home a special mention from the jury, with the sculpture 'Come in cielo così in terra' (As in heaven so on earth). It is a work in which aluminium has been worked in different ways and represents a complex experience. Could you tell us how you treated the materials? How does their combination help to create the message of the work and the feelings you wanted to communicate?

The aluminium sheet was beaten on stones of different granulometry, leaving marks, traces. It then underwent several blows with punches and perforations with nails. In this way it absorbed contact from elsewhere, locking in sound, rhythm, energy, tension, which in turn were transferred into the plaster mould behind it. I gave form to the void, creating an oxymoron, a duality between finite and infinite, between volume and space, light and shadow, between dazzle and vision.

In this space, the viewer is invited to discover the human capacity to transcend and give meaning to things.

In the title and composition of ‘As in Heaven so on Earth’ one can perceive references to philosophical and religious themes. Does the work reflect more a Platonic distance between ideas and reality, or an inability to comprehend divine plans? How important is important for you to leave this ambiguity in the interpretation of the work?

My work is closer to Martin Heidegger's unveiling of the concealed than Plato, particularly the allegory of the cave. I position myself as a subject of Christian and Western tradition and culture, who, in a secular way, seeks to understand and manifest what has always conditioned and conditioned man, the separation of day and night. In any case, there is distance in my things in that the more you go beyond the hedge of appearance approaching the unknown, the more you lose sight of things; you see the other. This is the incipit of the poem.

Talking about your way of perceiving art and applying it to your work, you often talk about darkness and light, both on a physical level (this can be seen in the importance of the shadow also in 'As in heaven so on earth') and on a metaphorical level, as a way of knowing and discovering what surrounds us, linking it to the concept of truth. Could you explain what you mean?

The chosen people lifted their tents when a cloud came over them, covering them, concealing them, God was with them. In Simone Martini's Annunciation, in that boundless golden background, we see a madonna fearfully retreating within the shadow of her mantle. The archangel Gabriel has just descended, announcing to her that God will beget his beloved son with the shadow. Light is certainty, the shadow the mystery of the unknown; it is in the shadow that lies the revelation of truth; it is sweet to me to shipwreck in this sea.

You state that your works are characterised by a 'visual oxymoron', what does this consist of? Can you tell us a specific example from one of your works, explaining how this contrast manifests itself?

The oxymoron is sculptors' favourite rhetorical figure; it comes naturally to us to adopt it, as it is connected to the idea of time, which is at the heart of sculpture-making. The oxymoron relates contrasting forces and weights, directing the viewer's gaze to the sculpted subject, and canceling out the background. The problem with sculpture is that unlike painting, it does not have its own background and light. In my work, I always try for the shadow of the sculpture to be a vehicle towards the sense of what is being manifested. In practice, any background and any light do not nullify and change the perception of the subject; rather, they reveal it.

Your works deal with complex themes. When you work, do you think about how the public might interpret them, or do you focus exclusively on your inner message?

I believe that a work of art is an object that in the presence of the other person's gaze becomes a thing. Man has this wonderful ability, to transfer and project thoughts onto an object. My work is to let others share my discoveries in the unknown, leaving everyone free to shipwreck with me or to stay on the shore and wait.

How do you choose the materials to use during your creative process? Do you start with an idea to realise and choose those that best suit it, or do you choose a material you want to measure yourself against and the work is created by working with it? Had you already worked with aluminium before 'As in heaven so on earth', or did this work mark your first approach to this material?

In sculpture, the material is thought and already an idea. Based on what I find the material that is that thing. I have worked with different metals; it was my first experience with aluminium. It is a versatile, ductile material, but because of the colour and its reflections in the light, it tends to flatten volumes, which is perfect for a painter's logic. I thought a lot about these characteristics and decided to cancel its reflections with the glare and to contrast its lightness with its reckless resistance, focused on the point of tension that connects the sheet to the plaster, thus entering into the logic of sculpture.

How do you see the evolution of your work in the coming years? Is there a particular project, theme or materials you would like to explore in the future?

I will definitely still use aluminium, it has several meanings yet to be explored. In the immediate future I am preparing a cycle of sculptures for a contemporary art magazine publication, and I am waiting for feedback on monumental public competitions. In art, I do not believe one can make predictions as well as in life, but I will certainly continue to embrace my shadow with the help of all the images and related materials that will appear before my eyes, continuing to wander obsessed with the desire to know and discover myself, others and us.