GIANFRANCO MEGGIATO’S INSTALLATION FOR MATERA – EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE
BELVEDERE OF THE MURGIA MATERANA PARK | 15 JULY-10 SEPTEMBER 2019
This is the largest contemporary art installation in Matera-European Capital of Culture and will be inaugurated on 15 July. An authentic journey of symbols and sculptures set in an area measuring 26×20 metres marked off by five thousand bags in the seven colours of peace. The Garden of Zyz is the work of Venice-born artist Gianfranco Meggiato that will look down at the city of the Sassi from the Belvedere of the Murgia Materana Park: an open hand, a symbol in many cultures of protection, openness and
spirituality.
An artistic project promoted by the Murgia Park Authority, Matera City Council and ITRIA (Association for inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue), curated by art critic and historian Daniela Brignone. As for The Spiral of Life, conceived for the Manifesta 12 event in Palermo-Italian Capital of Culture 2018 in memory of all the innocent victims of the mafia, Meggiato creates other monumental works inspired by values and themes that encourage deeper thought and meditation through art.
For Meggiato, Zyz– the ancient Phoenician word for flower – is “the primordial essence of knowledge and culture. The flower that can and must still bloom in the garden of our present times torn by divisions and misunderstandings to find what can unite us.” This is why the hand – which for Muslims is the hand of Fatima, for Jews the hand of Miriam, for Orthodox Christians the hand of Mary and for Catholics, more generally the hand of welcome towards others – holds a flower that in turn supports the artist’s tallest sculpture and his explicit invitation to unity and dialogue through the expression “Everything is One” written in the world’s thirty most spoken languages.
