Dalla terra al cielo: le radici spezzate di Vaia

THE ORIGIN

October 29, 2018, is a date that left an indelible mark on the outdoor community of the Dolomites. On that “black Monday,” the peak of the storm Vaia struck the spruce forests in Veneto and Trentino with hurricane-force winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour, after several days of heavy rain had compromised the stability of the forest root system.

More than 14 million trees were uprooted and tossed on the ground like sticks, over a total area of 42,500 hectares.

The impact of one of the most devastating disasters in recent decades on the timber industry, forest agriculture, and tourism has been incalculable.

THE SPARK

October 29, 2018, is a date that left an indelible mark on the outdoor community of the Dolomites. On that “black Monday,” the peak of the storm Vaia struck the spruce forests in Veneto and Trentino with hurricane-force winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour, after several days of heavy rain had compromised the stability of the forest root system.

More than 14 million trees were uprooted and tossed on the ground like sticks, over a total area of 42,500 hectares.

The impact of one of the most devastating disasters in recent decades on the timber industry, forest agriculture, and tourism has been incalculable.

The change first took place on a personal level, with the decision to move to his grandparents’ house on the Asiago plateau and become part of the environment he had only occasionally experienced until then. And then the wood. A compact material, yet versatile when multiple pieces are joined together. It also reflected a return to our animal nature. “We need to get our hands dirty again, encounter animals up close, and reclaim the primordial aspect of ourselves that we find only in the mountains,” he explains. This was the beginning of a series of works inspired by woodland animals rather than fantasy, created by combining forest debris, scraps, and broken roots. The creative process begins with a sketch, but it is the uniqueness of all the individual collected pieces (which are not painted) that gives shape to the work, like a mosaic. Thus, a curved root transforms into a wing, while the thinnest branches become a mane.

THE WINGED LION

The change first took place on a personal level, with the decision to move to his grandparents’ house on the Asiago plateau and become part of the environment he had only occasionally experienced until then. And then the wood. A compact material, yet versatile when multiple pieces are joined together. It also reflected a return to our animal nature. “We need to get our hands dirty again, encounter animals up close, and reclaim the primordial aspect of ourselves that we find only in the mountains,” he explains. This was the beginning of a series of works inspired by woodland animals rather than fantasy, created by combining forest debris, scraps, and broken roots. The creative process begins with a sketch, but it is the uniqueness of all the individual collected pieces (which are not painted) that gives shape to the work, like a mosaic. Thus, a curved root transforms into a wing, while the thinnest branches become a mane.