Left: "Mother Nature", Right: "Earth Exploitation"
Leonardo Passeri
acrylic and enamel on panel
78 ¾ x 51 ¼ x 1 ½ in
Further images
Earth Exploitation concludes the first cycle with a vision of decline and transformation.
At the centre, the figure of Mother Nature reappears, no longer as a generative force, but as a deteriorated relic. She remains central, but her role has shifted—from origin to memory. Around her, new structures emerge, representing the transfer of power from natural systems to artificial ones.
A dominant mechanical figure holds at its core the spherical symbol of the Earth—once a sign of origin, now appropriated and controlled. The shift is decisive: life is no longer governed by nature, but by constructed systems.
A drilling structure extends toward a figure intertwined with circuit-like patterns, suggesting the transformation of life into data, energy, and resource. Extraction becomes total—material, biological, and existential.
Earth Exploitation closes the "Urbenica" cycle with a critical condition: when nature becomes object and memory is replaced by control, power no longer sustains life—it consumes it.
All seven panels in the "Urbenica" series have also been presented by the Sir Denis Mahon Foundation, a highly respected organisation dedicated to advancing art historical research, supporting young artists and scholars, and preserving the legacy of one of Britain’s most distinguished champions of Italian art.

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