work
Mandragora
| category | Digital art |
| subject | Nature, Human figure, Animal |
| tags | |
| base | 50 cm |
| height | 50 cm |
| depth | 0 cm |
| year | 2020 |
According to an ancient legend, the mandragora (mandrake) would emit a harrowing scream capable of killing humans when uprooted from the ground. In alchemical contexts, it was associated with the concept of homunculus, from the Latin "little man," a miniature artificial human endowed with supernatural powers and suited for various purposes. Paracelsus, while describing the process of creating the homunculus, claimed never to have practiced the experiment of Creation, as it would have challenged the supposed divine power.
I had envisioned "mandragora" as a work on the theme of uprooting, of forced migration from one place to another under constraint. The scream is an instinctive, primal reaction that may also prefigure a cry for help, directed at others. One might scream, for example, due to the pain caused by a deep laceration. Images of mandrakes overlap with those of trees, which in this case represent the world we live in.
mandragora, photography, digital image processing, 15 elements, 50×50 cm (each), unique specimens, 2020
I had envisioned "mandragora" as a work on the theme of uprooting, of forced migration from one place to another under constraint. The scream is an instinctive, primal reaction that may also prefigure a cry for help, directed at others. One might scream, for example, due to the pain caused by a deep laceration. Images of mandrakes overlap with those of trees, which in this case represent the world we live in.
mandragora, photography, digital image processing, 15 elements, 50×50 cm (each), unique specimens, 2020
