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Left: "Mother Nature", Right: "Earth Exploitation"
Left: "Mother Nature", Right: "Earth Exploitation"
Leonardo Passeri
Mother Nature, 2019
original
acrylic and enamel on panel
acrylic and enamel on panel
200 x 130 x 3.5 cm
78 ¾ x 51 ¼ x 1 ½ in
78 ¾ x 51 ¼ x 1 ½ in
Series: Urbenica (Panel #1)
Copyright © Leonardo Passeri
Further images
A original and striking 200cm tall artwork. Mother Nature is the first panel, from a seven panel, 9.1 meters long composition titled "Urbenica", depicting scenes that trace the evolution of a constructed civilisation, from its symbolic origin to its eventual domination over life, revealing how power, system, and control progressively replace nature, balance and memory.
A original and striking 200cm tall artwork. Mother Nature is the first panel, from a seven panel, 9.1 meters long composition titled "Urbenica", depicting scenes that trace the evolution of a constructed civilisation, from its symbolic origin to its eventual domination over life, revealing how power, system, and control progressively replace nature, balance and memory.
At the heart of Mother Nature, a towering female figure stands as a powerful embodiment of generative energy—an elemental force of creation. She is framed within an architectural structure reminiscent of a temple, evoking ancient rituals and the sacred traditions woven throughout human history.
Above her, the structure shifts into something more ambiguous, almost spacecraft-like in form. This fusion creates a tension between the spiritual and the cosmic, transforming the space into a liminal zone—a threshold between earth and sky, the visible and the unseen.
At the base of the composition, four engraved symbols signify the classical elements: earth, air, water, and fire. Along the flanking columns, symbolic pairings—serpent with moon, sword with sun—introduce a language of dualities: instinct and intellect, night and day, transformation and power. These contrasts reflect both natural forces and aspects of human experience.
At the figure’s core rests a sphere representing the Earth, rendered not as a geographic reality but as an archetypal form drawn from ancient symbolic traditions. Within the world of "Urbenica", this sphere functions as a relic—an enduring fragment of cultural memory from a lost civilisation.
Here, the Earth is no longer depicted as a living world, but as a preserved symbol—an inheritance passed forward. What remains of the original world are traces and meanings, absorbed and reinterpreted by those who come after. In this sense, Mother Nature becomes not only a vision of origin, but a meditation on the memory of origin itself.
The deep blue background, constructed in the manner of stained glass, recurs across the first seven panels. It recalls the visual language of sacred spaces while replacing traditional religious imagery with an entirely new symbolic system.
At the heart of Mother Nature, a towering female figure stands as a powerful embodiment of generative energy—an elemental force of creation. She is framed within an architectural structure reminiscent of a temple, evoking ancient rituals and the sacred traditions woven throughout human history.
Above her, the structure shifts into something more ambiguous, almost spacecraft-like in form. This fusion creates a tension between the spiritual and the cosmic, transforming the space into a liminal zone—a threshold between earth and sky, the visible and the unseen.
At the base of the composition, four engraved symbols signify the classical elements: earth, air, water, and fire. Along the flanking columns, symbolic pairings—serpent with moon, sword with sun—introduce a language of dualities: instinct and intellect, night and day, transformation and power. These contrasts reflect both natural forces and aspects of human experience.
At the figure’s core rests a sphere representing the Earth, rendered not as a geographic reality but as an archetypal form drawn from ancient symbolic traditions. Within the world of "Urbenica", this sphere functions as a relic—an enduring fragment of cultural memory from a lost civilisation.
Here, the Earth is no longer depicted as a living world, but as a preserved symbol—an inheritance passed forward. What remains of the original world are traces and meanings, absorbed and reinterpreted by those who come after. In this sense, Mother Nature becomes not only a vision of origin, but a meditation on the memory of origin itself.
The deep blue background, constructed in the manner of stained glass, recurs across the first seven panels. It recalls the visual language of sacred spaces while replacing traditional religious imagery with an entirely new symbolic system.
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