FRANCESCO PESSINA

Having moved to the Aeolian island of Filicudi north of Sicily, thearchaic beauty and spiritual energy of this surrounding have in manyways influenced his entire art practice. Not only did he choose todedicate himself mainly to sculpture as a means of expression. He alsointensified his quest into the fundamental thoughts about humanity andthe roots of human existence through a period of intensive and stillongoing research in anthropology, astrology, ethnic studies and dreamreading.

His Totem sculptures are insofar exemplary for Pessina’scredo. They are symbolically composed of six sculptural elements thatrepresent the five continents and the sea (Australianus, Africanus,Europaeus, Asiaticus, Oceanicus and Americanus). The superimposable andexchangeable parts are akin to a “diary” of all of the earth’s variouspopulations rather than of a single group or clan. The materials andsizes of the forms and the traces on its surface invariably differ, oneTotem is never like another. Historically the Totem links to the varietyof cultures on earth as well as the transcendence between life anddeath in ancient societies. In a contemporary reading the Totems are ametaphor of a global society, whose basic forms remain the same whileits structure is flexible and in constant flux.

Pessina’s alternative approach to art results in a timeless message,which nevertheless addresses essential and pressing questions of ourtime. The equilibrium in life as a human endeavour, at times fragile andat times indestructible, is a major concern for the Italian artist.That is why his whole sculptural oeuvre speaks of great calm and imbuesgreat tranquility.

One of Pessina’s four-meter high Totem sculptures has been presented in the UN Memorial Park, Busan/Nam-Gu, South Korea in 2000.