Ad viridem aurum

Venolea International Award - Plinius, beyond time.

Year: 2019 - 20

Techniques: lost-wax casting, patina

Materials: Bronze, centuries-old olive wood

The Latin phrase "Ad viridem Aurum" recalls one of the oldest and most classic definitions of the olive tree, defined as "green gold". "Ad" can be interpreted in various ways, both as something done for green gold, as something done regarding it, or as something done starting from it. The aesthetics of the sculpture is dry, stripped of all the typical embellishments of representation, to appeal to contemporaneity since the olive tree exists now as it did in ancient times. The lost-wax casting technique, hybridized with other methodologies that I used to create the works, is as ancient as the olive trees themselves. "Ad viridem Aurum" in its three specimens is made of a bronze alloy patinated with potassium sulfide and copper sulfate. The base is made of centuries-old olive wood from the area. The Venafro Olive Park is a value that tells us who we have been and perhaps helps us to identify the direction that our territory should take in recovering a vocational and historical identity. It is a value that would not exist without the imperishable commitment of the people who strongly wanted and supported it.