The work Sii Dolce con me is titled after the eponymous poem by Italian poet and writer Mariangela Gualtieri “Sii Dolce con me”, in English “Be sweet with me”. The poem conveys the immense need to treat the being and the soul with tenderness and gentle gestures. Being fragile means being delicate, thus needing to be handled with care.
The prestigious velvet depicts thirteen species of flowers endemic to Italy. The theme of ecological preservation, particularly the protection of endemic species, is recurring, considering the critical environmental changes our planet is experiencing. Taking care of the self and the other implies caring for the natural surrounding environment, where we are called upon to feel safe. After being painted and treated with a corroding acid that burns out vegetal fibers, the fabric acquires a transparency that increases its fragility. The work itself calls for being handled with care and delicacy, as nature requires. Sii Dolce con me is an ode to nature that encapsulates the fragility and uniqueness of being.
ph. Nicos Louca