Relics
Upon entering the ornate garden of Palermo’s Piazza Marina, I am at once struck by its serene and indomitable beauty. Swathes of orange cast spotlights on the tiny particles of powdered dust spiralling upwards in the morning air. I move through the meandering pathways towards the vast canopy of the park’s centrepiece and as I do so my heart flutters a little as I recall the bloody past of this tree and a darkness falls on the not so distant stain left on the otherwise pristine and ornate garden hidden away from the city’s bustling boulevards and avenues.
In Australia Aboriginal peoples utilised the bark of this tree for the pigmentation used in their rock painting. Today the Ficus trees of Giardino Garibaldi are scattered with contemporary engravings from visitors to the park. These crude markings mirror those of Paleolithic man and mimic the spiritual urge to leave a physical imprint on the earth.
Beginning at the dawn of human consciousness this project charts our imprint on both the natural and built environment. From the Neolithic cave paintings of Levanzo, Sicily to the contemporary etchings carved into the bark of the island’s oldest tree; the photographs chart our innate desire to leave a physical mark on the earth. Through studying traces of art, religion and war an attempt is made to unearth the origins of the human soul.