Mother Power! My tribute to the harshness of life itself.
The sculpture, standing approximately 1.80 meters tall, consists of two elements that relate to each other like origin and unfolding, protection and growth, earth and light, but also hatred and horror.
My figure, abstract in its form and yet deeply human, stands upright, withdrawn into itself, in a that evokes prayer, silence, or inner reflection. The roughly hewn and polished surface conveys vulnerability and strength, fear and joy at once. The brightly yellow emerging self of the face, hidden and yet present, speaks of an inner source, of warmth, hope, and memory, but always also of injury and death.
At her feet rests the second element, a rounded, almost bud-like block, from whose interior a deep green spiral with a yellow center glows. In its color and form lies a powerful symbolism: a seed, an eye, a universe? The green-painted lines recall lifelines, roots, or dancing figures, movement and groundedness at once. The two can only exist together.
“She stands and watches,
without eyes – with heart.
She guards the spark
that dances in the deep.
Two parts,
one breath.”
Working on Mater Mana was a deeply enriching experience, both artistically and personally. The wood, soft and welcoming, could be shaped with devotion. The warm atmosphere, the shared act of creation under the southern sky in beautiful Nimis, all of it became part of the sculpture.
The natural pigments I used to paint the surfaces underline the organic connection, like a great code, between humans and nature, between creation and creativity, and destruction.
Mater Mana lives on for me, as a silent yet powerful symbol of feminine creative force. Proud like a white stallion.
Nimis (Italy) 2008
