Colour conflict: Lorenzo Vitturi interrogates his mixed cultural heritage, and the ‘hybridity’ of tradition

All photographs © Lorenzo Vitturi.

Vitturi’s newest present is an intense and summary exploration of tradition, historic craftsmanship and tradition

Aventurine is the title given to each an historic mineral and glass-making course of. The latter originated in the seventeenth century, when an artisan engaged on the island of Murano in Venice (well-known for its quite a few glass workshops) by chance dropped copper into liquid glass, making a mesmerising impact. The identical title is given to a 2.5-million-year-old mineral that has the look of a crystal-like quartz with 1000’s of tiny stars inside. 

Aventurine, in each its kinds, is the conceptual cue for Lorenzo Vitturi’s newest physique of work, now on present at Nature Morte Gallery in New Delhi, India. It attracts on the supplies’ cultural historical past, utilizing it as a metaphor to interrogate the numerous cultural id of the Italian-Peruvian artist – whose father is from Murano. The exhibition, titled Aventurine, transformations, and different tales, represents the subsequent chapter of a bigger and ongoing sequence, Caminantes.

These conversant in Vitturi’s work shall be effectively conscious of his mastery of color and texture. In Dalston Anatomy (2013), he photographed the individuals and objects round Ridley Street Market, close to the place he was residing at the time in London. Noticing the vitality and quickly altering group, he common uncooked, ephemeral sculptures utilizing these photographs and discovered supplies from the space. In his mission Cash Should be Made (2017), he constructed intricate nonetheless lifes from images and objects he made and collected from Balogun Market  Lagos, Nigeria, commenting on the metropolis’s society and economic system. 

“In my work I’m making an attempt to combine completely different methods, visually and aesthetically. It’s actually necessary as a result of it means there’s an actual cultural change by craft and collaboration.”

 

This time, Vitturi’s curiosity in aventurine took him to India, the place a particular inexperienced model of the mineral is usually discovered close to Mysore and Chennai. The artist has been working and travelling round the nation for a lot of months observing its panorama and pure rhythms and constructing an image archive in response. He grew to become acquainted with native artisans working with conventional crafts, resembling weaving. The expertise led to a detailed collaboration with the textile staff from the Jaipur Rugs Basis, in addition to the glassworkers from Murano and weavers and ceramicists from Peru. “The concept of this exhibition is to point out the complexity of completely different cultures merging,” he says. “In my work I’m making an attempt to combine completely different methods, visually and aesthetically. It’s actually necessary as a result of it means there’s an actual cultural change by craft and collaboration.” He provides: “Collaborations convey collectively new tales and the workforce brings the work to life. From these experiments we be taught new methods of working. That is one of my targets.” 

“I’m looking for the coincidence and connection between two issues which are completely completely different. In my nonetheless lifes, I place supplies collectively that wouldn’t exist facet by facet in actual life.”

 

The exhibition room is crammed with magnificent sculptural works and nonetheless lifes created from glass and mineral, married with thick, woven tapestries. Closely edited and “reducted” photographs of objects, fragments and textures additionally play a job in the compositions – utilizing the images themselves as a cloth. Then, photographic prints of smaller, intricate nonetheless lifes constructed from the identical supplies as the rugs, create a dialogue between the mediums. 

“My method to utilizing pictures is absolutely working with fragments, or segments of house and structure – additionally of the human physique. Some individuals see [the sculptures] as anatomies,” Vitturi observes. “Aesthetically they’ll resemble organs. I discover that fairly fascinating.” He provides: “I’m looking for the coincidence and connection between two issues which are completely completely different. In my nonetheless lifes, I place supplies collectively that wouldn’t exist facet by facet in actual life.”

Although the exhibition is an intense and summary exploration of tradition, historic craftsmanship and cultures throughout completely different continents, Vitturi authentically and personally connects to each component. “Tradition is seen as one thing important and distinctive to a selected tradition,” Vitturi says. However truly, it’s a combine of one thing that occurred in the previous, a hybrid. I feel it’s actually necessary to do not forget that particularly at the moment with the world, political scenario. It’s an necessary theme in all my work.”

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Aventurine, transformations, and other stories is on present at Nature Morte, New Delhi till 11 December 2022.