Bruno Walpoth
Bruno Walpoth, Pinocchio, 2022. View at Castel Gardena, Selva Gardena. Commissioned by Biennale Gherdëina ∞. Ph. Tiberio Sorvillo
Bruno Walpoth’s human figures, carved in walnut and linden, emerge from the artist’s encounter and confrontation with his models. Working at 1:1 scale, bodies, lines and forms take shape from the original wooden block by his hands. Though Walpoth is interested in reproducing realistically details of the human body such as a shoulder or an ankle, and is satisfied by this linekess, his concern transcends that of obtaining a hyper-realistic portrait of the person facing him: in their exterior appearance, the model becomes a surface layer, through which which to tell deeper stories, ones that the artist often finds through a deep engagement with the model’s facial expression, their gaze.
For Biennale Gherdëina ∞, Walpot has re-created Pinocchio, originally commissioned by the production team of the eponymous 2019 film, a dark and imaginative re-interpretation of the classic story directed by Matteo Garrone. On that occasion, the appearance of Pinocchio was modelled on that of the young actor who interprets the puppet in the film. Installed in Castel Gardena, Pinocchio is a reminder that the word Persona, from ancient Etruscan, finds its etymological origin in the ancient masks used in theatrical performances. A ‘person’, therefore, is not so much an individual, as much as a ‘container’ that grants us coherence or sense, and that makes it possible for us to participate in the events of the world. Pinocchio at Castel Gardena invites us to reflect on this peculiar location, one that feels magical and timeless, and which has, on the occasion of the Biennale, been populated with strange anthropomorphic creatures. In this context, Pinocchio exists as an element that is simultaneously playful and spectral, both a childhood memory and a premonition. The artist himself has, indeed, described the lesson Pinocchio’s character may teach us about human responses in the face of climate breakdown: “The Earth is on fire, and we are lying to ourselves”.
Bruno Walpoth, Pinocchio, 2022. View at Castel Gardena, Selva Gardena. Commissioned by Biennale Gherdëina ∞. Ph. Tiberio Sorvillo
Bruno Walpoth
Bruno Walpoth, Pinocchio, 2022. View at Castel Gardena, Selva Gardena. Commissioned by Biennale Gherdëina ∞. Ph. Tiberio Sorvillo
Bruno Walpoth’s human figures, carved in walnut and linden, emerge from the artist’s encounter and confrontation with his models. Working at 1:1 scale, bodies, lines and forms take shape from the original wooden block by his hands. Though Walpoth is interested in reproducing realistically details of the human body such as a shoulder or an ankle, and is satisfied by this linekess, his concern transcends that of obtaining a hyper-realistic portrait of the person facing him: in their exterior appearance, the model becomes a surface layer, through which which to tell deeper stories, ones that the artist often finds through a deep engagement with the model’s facial expression, their gaze.
For Biennale Gherdëina ∞, Walpot has re-created Pinocchio, originally commissioned by the production team of the eponymous 2019 film, a dark and imaginative re-interpretation of the classic story directed by Matteo Garrone. On that occasion, the appearance of Pinocchio was modelled on that of the young actor who interprets the puppet in the film. Installed in Castel Gardena, Pinocchio is a reminder that the word Persona, from ancient Etruscan, finds its etymological origin in the ancient masks used in theatrical performances. A ‘person’, therefore, is not so much an individual, as much as a ‘container’ that grants us coherence or sense, and that makes it possible for us to participate in the events of the world. Pinocchio at Castel Gardena invites us to reflect on this peculiar location, one that feels magical and timeless, and which has, on the occasion of the Biennale, been populated with strange anthropomorphic creatures. In this context, Pinocchio exists as an element that is simultaneously playful and spectral, both a childhood memory and a premonition. The artist himself has, indeed, described the lesson Pinocchio’s character may teach us about human responses in the face of climate breakdown: “The Earth is on fire, and we are lying to ourselves”.
Bruno Walpoth, Pinocchio, 2022. View at Castel Gardena, Selva Gardena. Commissioned by Biennale Gherdëina ∞. Ph. Tiberio Sorvillo