Rome is recognized across the globe for its classical artwork, but recently the city’s modern street art has been drawing attention. While many urban artists stick to painting murals, one Italian sculptor is bucking the trend with his wonderful works made from an unusual medium. Andrea Gandini, a native of Rome in his early twenties, has been recognized for his wood carvings of old tree trunks scattered across the city’s landscape.
Gandini’s Troncomorto, or “dead trunk” project, began in 2018, when the artist ran out of sculpting clay. That’s when he noticed theremains of an old tree stump in his neighborhood.
He realized that Rome was full of potential canvasses just waiting to be given new life. “Bringing trees back to life” is exactly how Gandini and others describe his art.
他開始意識到羅馬潛藏著許多等待重獲新生的素材。「讓樹起死回生」正是甘迪尼等人形容其藝術的說法。
bring... back to life使⋯⋯起死回生
Due to years of poor care by the city, many trees became diseased and had to be cut down. This resulted in lots of old stumps that blemish the streets of Rome, which were costly to remove. However, they have been a perfect canvas for Gandini, who has completed over 50 carvings across the city.
Gandini gives each old tree trunk a face and personality of its own. By recognizing each formerly living tree as an individual, he hopes to give them some dignity in death and honor each of them with their own headstoneof sorts. For those that can’t make the trek to Rome, Gandini documents his works of art on Instagram.
