Petricor

Developing this project was a unique experience of connection with nature: breathing life at the origin of everything, observing the microsystems that share energy, live in community and in constant exchange, walking to the music of rain blessing the forest, birds and their songs flying over the woods, contemplating the damp dark-green view as far as the eye can see.

After I dived headfirst into the universe of art, studying with masters who opened my mind and expanded my vision to an infinite universe far beyond our own, this connection became hugely important for feeling on my skin what we are and what we are doing to our greatest good, mother nature, who feeds us, cools us, gives us water (fresh and salt) — and in return we are suffocating more and more this Earth that gave us life.

Since then I have turned to research — psychoanalysis, philosophers, art history and the universe — seeking to reconcile with the past, when true connections were an exchange of “non-virtual” energy.

Petrichor is the name of the earthy scent produced when rain falls on soil or stone after a period of drought and heat. The word comes from the Greek petra, meaning stone, and ichor, the fluid that ran in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology. The intensity of the scent varies with the type of soil and the speed of the raindrops.

The title of the series came from a conversation with a friend who, on reading the text, brought me this word — and we felt it fits the experience and purpose of the work very well, bringing meaning and life to our existence.