Extinct (The ice and the light), 2022, etching and natural oxidation on copper, measurements to fit
space, panels measure 32,5 x 32,5 cm each
Federico Gori designed this artwork - one of the in-progress series titled Extinct - especially for
the indoor room of the Cascina Terrarossa exhibition space at the Fattoria di Celle. The piece is
composed of copper plates where, via etching and oxidation, he shows the imprint of six forms of
vegetation. Although all different, these plants share the same fate: they no longer exist in nature.
In the specific case of this artwork the plants Gori refers to are Cooksonia (known to be the first
plant to appear on our planet), Psilophyton, Zamites, Schizostachys Pinnata, Sphenophyllum, and
Anomozamites.
To execute his printed images, the artist referenced the few existing archaeological remains of
these plants which were all growing on Earth in different eras. The imprints of the flora have been
transformed into repeatable patterns but, even if the graphic layout remains constant, each copper
panel appears to be different from the others. Thanks to the technique employed, the oxidations in
progress render the component panels individuals just like the precursor plants from which they
are derived. Moreover, copper, by its very nature, tends to change over time, reacting to what
happens and exists around it and thus communicating the quality of uniqueness.
There's a time that's present both within the overall artwork and within its constituent materials.
The single elements behave like living organisms, moving through space and time, changing skin;
through transformation they fully reveal their dynamism.
The artwork is positioned in space in such a way as to occupy three of the room's walls. The
window, which had been the original inspiration for the piece, is slightly off centre with respect to its
wall. From here two symmetrical extensions depart and widen towards the room, recalling great
wings opened to greet the visitor