A couple of days ago I received a few images from Italian artist Fabio Petani‘s work, recently finished in Gorle, a small commune in the Province of Bergamo.
DIOSSIDO DI CARBONIO & CALATHEA MAKOYANA as the ground piece has been titled, was painted for the ongoing StreetArtBall project, a regeneration project of the city of Bergamo and surroundings areas.
According to the organisers, the StreetArtBall (SAB) project is an urban regenerating program intended to promote outdoor activities and bring people outside again after a long year indoors.
With this in mind, and the support of the Bergamasca Community Foundation, they decided to invite some of the best Italian street artist to cover five different playgrounds, basketball courts, with works of art.
One of these invited artists is precisely Fabio Petani, who painted one of his magnificent compositions featuring a Calathea Makoyana, a natural air purifier that absorbs harmful substances and transforms them into pure oxygen.
The idea behind the floor piece came to him after reflecting on the how the pandemic has influenced the lives of thousands of people worldwide, but specially around Bergamo, a city harshly devastated during the last year. Renewal and rebirth seem to be key concepts behind, not only this particular piece, but also the SAB project’s intentions.
“We must be the plant that struggles to transmit oxygen and positive stimuli in such a difficult time.” – Fabio Petani.
According to the artist, he uses his botanical visual language to incentive positive thinking among people and make them believe that there is hope, that things will improve and that there is up to them to make an effort and make it happen.
The piece took four and a half days to complete with the great help of three local volunteers (Sara, Thomas and Fabrizio).
Here a few images of the final work and the usual message; It will be ok. In the end. Or like our Prime minister said the other day; “there is light in at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is just damn long”.
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