Some people have asked to see the sculpture I made for the "SpOor" exhibition. Here it is: a reliquary holding a salt shaker containing my fingernails. The gallery provided this definition of "spoor" in their call for entries:
spOor
noun \’spur, ‘spor\ plural spoor or spoorsDefinition of SPOOR
1 : a track, a trail, a scent, or droppings especially of a wild animal
2 : a trace by which the progress of someone or something may be followed
I immediately thought of a piece I'd done years before. A salt shaker filled with fingernails. Maybe 20 years ago. I'd created it back then as an absurd object, a Dada sculpture. But now it seemed a strong representation of what it means to be an artist, to share parts of yourself with others. To leave a trace of yourself out in the world. Spoor of the artist. It also brought to mind Piero Manzoni's famous canning of his own poop, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist's_shit) "Merda d'artista" and so, in respect and reference to that iconic work, I entitled my sculpture: "Unghie dell'artista". Fingernails of the artist.
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