Il Volo. Natura Cultura
Installation (wing dimensions: cm 160 x 104)
2013
Il Volo. Natura Cultura is an installation that establishes a visual and symbolic dialogue among nature, culture, and female identity through two elements: an ancient spinning wheel housed in a crystal case and a wing suspended from the ceiling.
The Spinning Wheel and the Glass Ceiling
The decision to enclose the spinning wheel in a case carries a double meaning. On the one hand, it highlights an object associated with traditional female labour, on the other, the crystal case assumes the allegorical function of the “glass ceiling”, the invisible barrier many women encounter in their pursuit of autonomy and self-affirmation.
The Wing. When Nature Embroiders
The suspended wing, a clear allusion to the freedom of flight, appears to be embroidered by the skilled hands of an embroiderer. In reality, it is composed of the internal structure of the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica), dried, stitched, and painted.
Nature itself “embroiders,” assuming an active and creative role. The parallel with human making underscores a new horizontality in which the distinction between culture and nature dissolves.
Beyond Anthropocentrism
The installation suggests the decline of anthropocentric primacy and the emergence of an ecological and relational way of thinking, in which the human recognises in nature another form of intelligence.
The work was presented in the exhibition Glass Ceiling at the La Vaccheria Exhibition Space in Rome, from 8 March to 12 April 2025.