Photo by Teddy Freeman
The foundation of Ravagli’s practice resides on four principles - light, continuum, intensity and solitude. Light uncovers the stone’s insides, continuum denotes the prolonged, detailed process of creation, intensity conveys devotion, solitude enhances intuition and mastery.
Shaping organic matter brings out the violence that is inevitable when nature is confronted by human intention to modify its default essence. The process of creation draws the artist into the battle for control with the stone.
“Growing up surrounded by the mountains, I spent a lot of years in the village covered with snow in winter. Quarries visible on the surface of the mountains remind me of snow and ice. Sometimes I can mistake one for the other. Yet, they are not ice formations that cuddle the stone, but thousands of years old manifestations of human violence and greed. Humanity’s destructive potential reflects our self-centred perception of our place in the world".
Solitude also describes Ravagli’s meditative state in the working process adjoins the automatism of carving and problem-solving. This is when the artist makes most out of little, paying attention to every vein before cutting it open.
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