Space of Light
The shape of a tree is determined by the place in which it sprouted and by the conditions of the light in the place where it grows.
Its entire life is bound up with the light.
The tree develops its shape in seeking out the light.
A tree grows in concentric rings, year after year, laying down layer after layer of matter.
I covered the trunk and branches of a tree with a layer of wax, tracing its shape and the logic of its growth.
I enclosed it in a sheath of wax and then I cast it in bronze.
In this way I obtained the matrix, the negative form of the tree, the space in which it developed its shape as determined by the light.
I covered the matrix with leaves made of pure gold.
Gold has always been linked with our perception of the sun, of light, of space, of spirituality.
Light is necessary for us to see.
I positioned the bronze sculpture horizontally, at a height of about 140 centimetres from the ground,
It is made in eight sections each of which is about 200 centimetres and separated from the others by a space of 60 centimetres,
As we look at the inside of the sculpture our gaze ranges over the space of light taken up by the tree and becomes the tree.