‘U Mistèri

 ‘U Mistèri, which in the Sicilian dialect means “craft” or “trade,” already evokes, in its title, the sacredness imbued with the mystery of manual work, particularly that of the quarryman, but also of the stone-sawing worker who cuts stone slabs, and of the craftsman in the workshop who carries out finer cuts, as well as polishing and finishing the surfaces.In short, it evokes that whole chain of hands and people who continue to share a symbiotic and respectful relationship with stone, at times mediated by the presence of new working machines, increasingly incisive and intrusive in the flesh of Great Mother Nature.

Convent of Santa Maria della Croce – Scicli (Rg)
Supported and sponsored by the Municipality of Scicli
Donation to the Museum of Contemporary art of Scicli

‘U MISTÈRI – 2016 - n° 3 asphaltic stones, cotton canvas and bitumen; 195 x h58 x 78 cm ech stone, sheet 80 x h398 cm 

'I fierri’, in Sicilian dialect, means tools, instruments, utensils in general: the implements used in work, in the mestiere. These fierri—not made only of iron, but also of wood—are a fantastical transposition of the tools used for working stone: primordial weapons, almost machines, made for cutting, hammering and splitting Pece stone, rich in oil (just as the harpoon and the blade capture, move and cut the whale!). In reality, despite their size—knives several metres long, enormous hammers—these objects are only apparently impressive: they are improbable to handle, and their tin blades are weak. Almost puppets, they impress only if we choose to believe in them. These fierri extend the work 'U Mistèri (the craft)—sculptures in Pece stone and shrouds (sheets treated with bitumen)—like symbols of a Passion, remembering, as children, objects made for adult use.