“Quello che abbiamo dimenticato” – Painting

2023

50×70 cm

Pastels on paper

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During the summer of 2022 i found an interview about a seemingly ordinary man from a small village in the mountains of Trentino Alto Adige (Italy), his name was Ferruccio.
He wore simple clothes, and his expression was hardened by a lifetime of fatigue, but under his black hat were two deep and incredibly kind eyes.
During the interview, he mentioned that he loved to spend most of his time in the woods, and through nature he found the peace that our fast-paced society has lost.
I decided that I had to encounter this man, and after months of preparation, I managed to get in touch with him.
We agreed to meet in the square of his village, and I brought a bottle of Lambrusco wine produced in my area and a small charcoal study of him.
I expected him to be wary, suspicious, but instead he showed me nothing but deep and sincere gratitude.

He invited me into his home, and while he told me more about its life, I kept feeling like I was talking to a spirit of the forest, akin to what you would find in a book by J.R.R. Tolkien.
From nature, he learned every herb’s properties and how to use them to treat animals, create ointments, soups, liquor and other ancient concoctions.
From plants, he learned to be patient, resilient and perseverant.
From animals, he learned to recognize good people at first glance, and give endless kindness to those who deserved it.
And from him, I learned that no amount of wealth will ever replace the empathy that our society lacks, the gratitude we can’t express, and the kindness we don’t know how to give anymore.
Only nature can teach us what we have forgotten.