Chi di voi negli ultimi mesi, passando di fronte gli archi della marina, non ha notato nulla di strano ed insolito? Noi ci siamo soffermati proprio sul lavoro dell’artista ospite Patty Groot Bluemink che per tre mesi, dal 26 novembre al 26 febbraio, ha ridato vita e personalità, con un tocco di originale inventiva, alla statua di Ferdinando I di Borbone, opera del canoviano Antonio Calì, collocata proprio di fronte Palazzo Biscari in piazza Borsellino (già piazza Alcalà). Ecco cosa ci ha raccontato.

Briefly, how did you start your career as an artist? Do you have any other experience abroad?

I cannot really speak of a career yet. I am a student, finishing my master degree at the Sandberg Institute, Fine Arts department (MFA) in Amsterdam. Before the Sandberg Institute I studied 3D design at the Utrecht School of the Arts (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht) and Applied Arts at the Sandberg Institute. Besides a few exhibitions in the past three years in Holland, this was my first experience working abroad.

How have you lived the experience of “Gemine Muse” project and how did you feel about working in Catania?

For me Gemine Muse was a great opportunity to create and show a new work for a specific location and to be free to do what I want with the environment. It was special to experience the reactions of people that were passing by my work. They were honest and direct about their opinion, what I appreciate. These kind of first ‘straight up’ expressions by people in general are things I use as inspiration.

Amsterdam and Catania are obviously two completely different cities. Anyway, did you notice some similarities between them?

The curiousity of people is everywhere/always there.

As we all know, you worked on the statue without head. Why did you choose that? What is the meaning you wanted to convey (even considering the head which represents your face and the title of your work “Grande Bluemink” which includes your surname)?

I was already working on ideas to create a selfportrait for a while. When I saw the headless statue of Ferdinando  Bourbon I for the first time, I was surprised about its state. It was just standing there without a head. For me a statue without head has no value, because it has no identity. By putting my own head on the statue I could address the statues identity. I wanted to explore the whole meaning and value of statues in general. What would the people say, if they would see its renovation in the first place. And what if it’s a self portrait of the one who renovated it? By renovating it I honoured the perfection and beauty of the classic statue. By using different (modern) techniques and materials the work has multiple layers.

How did you carry out your research into the history of this statue?

I asked for some basic information about who created this statue and when it was made. Who is the depicted man, why does not it have a head, was it an accident or was it on purpose and why was it never renovated? I got information through Mariagiovanna Chiavaro from the staff of the Gemini Muse project. For me all this extra information were not directly necessary to make this work.

How did you produce the head? What kind of materials you used, how long it took, what about working conditions to put it up on the “body”…

From the time they invited me to make work for the Gemine Muse project I had two months to create and produce my idea. My face is scanned by a computer and spout from plastic. I mould my hear and neck around the face with clay. This I used to make a mold and casted plastic in it. I did this to have a lightweight object to bring to Catania. In Catania I made the neck fit on the statue with silicone. The Gemini Muse organisaton/staff arranged a good appartment for further preparations and they asked people to help me installing my head on the statue.

Could you tell us some odd anecdote while you were working at the statue?

Nothing really special besides people yelling at me in Italian while working at the statue. No clue what they were yelling about.

What is generally the feedback, the reactions of the audience looking at your works?

I think a lot of people are connected to my work, but they can’t really explain the reason why. That’s what I am playing with. I often try to make the people conscious of their unconscious actions in daily life. In this case I wake them up and suddenly they ‘see’ the statue again, while the years before they just passed in their every day life.

Who are your favourite artists or what is the movement you like and have a preference for?

The art that fascinates me is art that is standing close to society or reality, including subjects of daily life. Artists as Martin Parr, Duane Hanson, Philip Kame Apagaye or for instance Harmen de Hoop are inspiring me in the way of working, how they are looking at daily life and bring their ideas to life. It can vary from photographers to conceptual artists and from new media artist to painters.

What does it mean for you to join past and present, tradition and innovation, classic and postmodern?

I feel honoured I was able to show my work by using the old statue. Based on pure craftmanship I couldn’t get much closer than I did now by using hi-tech tools as computers for example. The technique to create my selfportrait emphasizes the theme of the project.

What do you think about Duchamp’s “readymade”? I mean, how much reproduction and reinvention of a work of art could affect the whole world of arts? Don’t you think sometimes the artists risk to create only faithful copies or “fetishes” which minimize the original greatness of a work of art and deprive its own identity?

While working on my project I never considered the whole theory of ‘readymade’; I noticed the damaged statue and came up with this idea. I wanted to make a statement on statues in general and not on this one specific or its creator.

Today art in general has actually lost its real vocation for beauty, even because of a probable mistrust towards the whole reality, and it has become something socially destabilizing, an immediate shock. What is beauty applied to art for you and how would you define art nowadays?

Beauty is on the inside, not on the outside.

A preview of your forthcoming artistic projects… Do you plan to come back to Italy someday?

For now I am just working for myself, observating human behaviour in daily life and trying out new ideas. If there is an opportunity to do a project in Italy again I would like to participate. The openness, hospitality and temperament of the Catania people affected and inspired me. I would take any chance to show and create new work anywhere on the world anytime….