In this project, the artist wanted to work with the most historical element present in the park, the public fountains, creating a dialogue between the contemporary and the classical, between change and tradition. With their cast-iron structures painted green, the ‘vedovelle’ of Milan are the most typical image of the city within this completely renovated area. The term ‘vedovelle’ comes from their continuous gushing of water, which resembles the weeping of a widow; they are also otherwise known as ‘green dragons’ due to their characteristic dragon-head-shaped spout.
For each of the ten drinking fountains installed in the park, the work Vedovelle e Draghi Verdi consists in recreating the spout – originally in brass – by proposing a sculpture that varies each time, obtained through the handcrafting of a wax model and its subsequent casting in bronze.
Each of the park’s fountains thus features a different, unique animal. Vedovelle e Draghi Verdi is a work that speaks of slowness, as it asks the visitor to wander through the park’s geography to be seen in its entirety, initiating a reflection on the act of walking as a process of exploring a place, as a mechanism of knowledge and discovery, as non-permanent architecture, as a form of anti-monument. Through walking, this work seeks to bring art back to a human scale: it is not an invasive intervention on the landscape, but a silent sign perceived by those who approach to drink, aimed at enhancing water as a common good.
Serena Vestrucci was born in Milan in 1986, attended the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and the IUAV University of Venice. Her works explore the obviousness of small things, giving voice to what is often hidden, forgotten, or relegated to the background. Through a playful, yet direct and provocative language, the ordinary is decontextualized, or in her own words, “transferred to a different field of action.” Vestrucci manipulates everyday elements through a wide range of artistic processes and linguistic impositions; however, the original identity of anything that captures her attention is preserved forever, if not even enhanced, as it acquires a new meaning. Ultimately, Vestrucci transforms things into images.
photo: © Beppe Brancato | © Christian Richters | © Fabrizio Stipari
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