The woodworker Giovanni Longo is the creator of fascinating sculptures connected to memory and history, not as a succession of events, but as a sedimentation of the marks others witnessed. His Fragile Skeletons woodworking collection was created with wood recovered on rivers and beaches. The tragic factor in his art is unquestionable, as well as the feeling of desolation.
Photo: ©Michele Lacopo
Photo: ©Michele Lacopo
Photo: ©Michele Lacopo
Giovanni brought to life his first wood skeleton for a school exam in artistic anatomy. He loves to pick forgotten branches and sticks and transform them into art. He truly treasures these objects because they naturally reveal the passing of time, due to organic decomposition. The scratches, the scars printed on wood after a long river trip by water and stone are precious.
Photo: ©A. Renda
Photo: ©Michele Lacopo
The artist confesses “the wood is a sincere material that does not deny its own past and its own history”, that’s why he loves it. The skeletons of birds, dogs, bats and snakes arise in this way, from pieces returned from water.
Photo: ©Michele Lacopo
Photo: ©Michele Lacopo
His peculiar masterpieces are extremely realistic, almost scientific, thanks to the dedication and precision of the maker. First, Giovanni chooses the subject, then he studies the original structure of it, in order to maintain a certain anatomic accuracy and from this point on, he starts a research on the field, exploring downriver areas. In his studio, he completes the process by cleaning the sand from the piece and selecting the most suitable fragment fitted to the sections until the final assembly of the artwork. What comes out is a surprising, unexpected sculpture soaked up with a dose of melancholy.
Photo: ©A. Renda
Photo: ©A. Renda
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