2022
Sophi@
An old Italian doll turned into a cyber deity coming from the future.
CONCEPT
Initially inspired by Italian sacred art and the Infant Jesus of Prague, SOFI@ is a 60 cm-tall Italian doll from the 50s whose half body I covered with microchip fragments from recovery motherboards to represent the in-between process of becoming an android or a cyborg. A new deity coming from the future.
Sophi@ (2022), close-up.
A hybrid creature made of biology and information, in its gradual process of dematerialization. A sort of living allegory of augmented humanity. A sculpture preluding our cosmic and interplanetary destiny, envisioned by the candor of a child’s gaze. The altar is made with a white lacquered drift wood with an authentic golden sunburst installed, and the whole structure is illuminated by a blue LED cloak.
Sophi@ (2022), The Infant Jesus of Prague
ORIGIN STORY
In 2019 I was strolling through the center of Naples and I came across the shop window of the Ospedale delle Bambole (“Dolls’ hospital”). I was struck by the haunting beauty of the dolls and of their gazes, especially I was attracted by the languid eyes of this 50s Italian doll who also accidentally resembled, in the child version, the innovative music artist and trans icon SOPHIE, who died at 34 in 2021.
Sophi@ (2022), original doll.
The idea to create a sort of new post gender, post biological, hyper connected deity of the upcoming “novacene”, comes from her.
Artist and singer performer S.O.P.H.I.E († 2021)
Music artist SOPHIE somehow embodied for me the model of the individual of the future. Not necessarily the unified androgynous some fear (I don’t), but an individual capable to espress and explore the maximum of oneself.
So, though I oppose ideological non senses and I am prone to address issues with a rational and sincere philosophical standpoint — yet I don’t exactly know what truly lies beneath these cultural wars upon identity politics and gender/queer theories.
For the good and evil they may bring in the short term, they could ultimately drive us to develop an actual augmented (non ideological intersected) fully integrated interplanetary species where it is the individual per se and its pursue of knowledge, beauty or happiness, to be valuable and bring value.
Will see. As an artist, I just 3D-printed my vision.
Sophi@ was firstly shown at my solo exhibition Sublimine (2022).