Three wooden crucifixes, one of which is missing the top part of the cross, have been repainted by the artist, who provocatively presents the cross and Christ dressed in military camouflage. The work certainly stems from the intention of creating an immediate reference to the terrible conflicts that have been erupting in the name of God and his church for millennia, but this is not the primary aspect on which the artist wants to focus. While there is a clear protest against a system that leads men to fight against each other to achieve goals that have little to do with the principles of Christianity (or any other religion), there are also multiple additional messages that refer to a more intimate sphere.

In fact, this work hides a more subtle reflection that extends to embrace the condition of man in the society in which he lives. Through the icon of the crucifix, already used for the realization of previous works, the artist wants to highlight the figure of the common man who every day finds himself having to face real struggles, with himself and with the context in which he is inserted, for his physical and moral survival, for the maintenance of his personality, his dignity, for the pursuit of his objectives, for the realization of his desires, and so on. Thus, Christ is not only the one in whose name one is willing to lose one's life, but above all the man who daily becomes a martyr or is forced to become one, for himself or for others. The installation, therefore, uses the theme of religious wars as a pretext to address an equally painful problem, that of inner conflict, common to many other works of the artist.

by Alessandra Menesini

Bartoli Filter Foundation

​

​