Per Aspera ad Astra
Performance
January – March, 2024,
Valencia, Spain.
Material: earth, artificial Christmas tree, red Christmas hat, branches, plastic tube, cyanotype.
Photos: Maurizo P., NEA
In this project, I focus on a specific place, the idea of struggle, and the poetry of resistance.
It all begins with a radical change imposed on a landscape near where I currently live, when the local administration granted authorization to a group of private construction companies to excavate a hill covered by more than 15 hectares of forest. This forest is notable for its biodiversity of fauna and flora, as well as the presence of some Roman archaeological remains. The goal of the project was to build 447 luxury homes, accommodating around 1,500 people.
In response to this situation, I decided to take action through an artistic practice that unfolded in two phases:
- Performing an in-situ performance:
I climbed an artificial mound, approximately 40 x 12 meters in size, created during the construction of the first set of buildings. The mound was made up of stones and rock debris. After several attempts, I managed to raise an artificial Christmas tree at the top, in the highest spot.
In the images of the performance, I appear as a small black dot, like an ant, on the mound. In the final photo, at the top of the artificial mound, the artificial Christmas tree appears, which I finally succeeded in raising after several falls. - Creating an autobiographical cartography of the Torreta del Pirata, based on the experience of the performance:
This cartography was reproduced using cyanotype on a 50 x 70 centimeter sheet of paper. The cyanotype captures the effects of the action on my body. During the performance, I fell several times before reaching the top of the mound, resulting in deep bruises and scratches, primarily on my legs. These injuries, photographed in the days following the performance, formed a kind of constellation of the action.
The cyanotype was folded like a letter, wrapped in tissue paper, and tied with a blade of grass.
