Leah Coffey & Donato Mastrantuono

Artists:
Leah Coffey e Donato Mastrantuono

Title:
ORIGINS

Price:
800 EURO

Contact Emails:
violincellista1@hotmail.com
info@bizarreatelier.com

THE ARTISTS
Donato Mastrantuono, born Torino, Italy, 1957
Leah Coffey, born Darwin, Australia, 1962
Are a couple who live and work in Florence.  Florence is their adopted home of choice. Donato has been based there for approximately 20 years and Leah for the past 7 years.  Their individual formation as artists encompasses a range of experiences, spanning from Italy, the U.K., Asia and Australia.  They have worked separately at art making and art promotion throughout their careers and they have been involved in a variety of art and craft enterprises and initiatives. The combination of their shared interests together with their cultural differences provides the motivation to realize works such as 'ORIGINS', which was created specifically with regard to ‘imagined Australia’.

  In the past Donato has created masks, worked with resin to create imaginative works of art and installations using sand and color. As well as this over the years he has developed a unique style of jewellery and sculpture using resins, silver and gemstones.  These can be viewed by visiting his shop 'Bizarre' at 52R Borgo Albizi, which is in the centre of Florence.

  Leah's background is concentrated in art – painting and installation work, music - violoncello and writing as well as having worked in various art galleries promoting Australian art.  She has exhibited and sold work in England Australia and Italy. In Florence she continues to make and promote art. 

ARTISTS' INTENTIONS
GROUNDWORK: The use of sand and stone formation on the ground refer to our 'percorsa del esistenza', the transition through life and peoples migration paths.  Stones represent the constructed forms of life we erect to solidify our realities (both personal and group), so as to weight our identities 'in place' and time, factors most relevant to the migrant experience of seeking to secure oneself within a new environment.

The use of these materials therefore is not casual and refers to the notion of 'Territory', of both Italy and Australia who share a series of affinities as well as stark contrasts (beautiful and vast stretches of coastline; wealth of metals and minerals; racial diversity; contrasting mountain and desert interiors; island continent with peninsula.  In brief the ground work represents the effort of people constructing and interacting with diverse realities through time.

SUSPENDED WORK: The gemstones and minerals we use refer to both physical and spiritual aspects. The variety of stones refer to the racial and cultural diversity that characterizes both our countries.  The physical nature of the stones being both fragile as well as durable, lends itself well to representing both indigenous and migrant populations in all their fragility as well as strength and durability required in constructing and maintaining personal and cultural identity.  The infinite evolution of cultures and the integration of differing cultures through time is represented in the form of the sphere which entwines wire suggesting a continuous movement and evolution.

Finally the inclusion of the poem abORIGINES, is as homage, not only to Australia's indigenous people but to all in search of or interested/motivated to maintain their personal and cultural ORIGINS.

AbORIGINES

  Earth worn, a proud people
eyes glazed, hands gnarled, dreaming words
perfectionless their heart of meaning
knowing outside the mind
felt through walkabout and digging
People whose hair connects the stars
and feet pad dry cracked earth
whose dusty ankles know of roots
but don't speak about it
who sing along sing along
the way of Emu rock and Billabong
under an awesome sky

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