… take me to Church.
I have discussed the piece I want to create, in honour of my friend Marina Pedi who died that night in 1976 and hence, to honour everyone who passed away.
I want to create a Church, using the plaster pieces I made, adding also some metal, wood, and the melted glass in order to create a balance within the elements.
(bear with me, now, because I am brainstorming while writing)
I also want to honour all the 978 victims, creating some 98 pieces of “something” that would surround the church.
I do not want to create a “finished and polished” church. I want a work-in-progress Church, an in-between destruction and restoration to former glory.
I want conservation.
People have counted, numbered, saved and reused 9000 stones to save the Duomo in the town of Venzone… 9000 original stones. All numbered. This is what my people did after the earthquake: count their deads and count stones.
I want my Church to show the scars of destruction and the hope of construction. Someone suggested I cast 98 hands (doll size) as a memento to the deads. I thought: what a great idea! And then decided that I wanted to go back to my original plan: I will not be using hands but little jars: conservation. Conservation. Conservation is the word.
I just cannot wait…