Bamboo in the Oak forest, 2003

Niji Sumi, Fine Quality Japanese Paper, Kozo 
Epson Print23 x 30.5cm

There are two different mountains in southern Ticino: The mountain of truth – Monte Verità – on Lake Maggiore and the golden mountain – Collina d‘ Oro – in Ceresio, reflected in the rocky simplicity of a changing landscape.

There were various revolutionaries (locals call them nerds) from the north for a few decades, who radically turned away from bourgeois society. Here on the g olden mountain, however, in the lap of a lovely landscape, great spirits from the region and the wide world created wonderful things for centuries. I was lucky enough to spend an almost magical year in the heart of this golden hill in Barbengo thanks to the generosity of the Fondazione Sciaredo. The silent, timeless and spatial interchangeability of this southern environment gave me the opportunity to penetrate deeper into the inside of the mind (locals call it Citta) through practice. In my artistic work, this experience has had a positive effect.

This album is my homage to the cosmopolitan Ticino, the Collina d’Oro, the Fondazione Sciaredo and especially to Georgette Klein, who created this creative place back in 1932.