SURFISH AL T Mediterraneo sottosopra, solo exhibition of the artist Tiziana Sanna dedicated to the marine species of the Mediterranean, from 11 July to 5 September 2024 at the UNAHOTELS T Hotel in Cagliari.
Writes the artist:
"It had been a long time since I wanted to dedicate a collection to the sea, I studied the subjects to paint, but it was still all nebulous, I didn't know with which formats and with which techniques I would create the paintings. Working on the creation of this exhibition gave me the right push, to generate this world all at once. It was an incredible journey to the other part of Sardinia that I wanted to tell: I deeply love the sea, snorkeling, chasing its incredible creatures with my eyes, seeing them move, dance, play with them. As the lines and colors took shape, I relived the enthusiastic sensations of my dives.
I painted large surfboards shaped by the surf designer Fabio Ruina: I chose to depict in each one a fish whose shape filled the entire space of the board, leaving a background margin that echoed the colors of our sea.
In the three surfboards that were installed at the entrance to the exhibition suspended from the ceiling vertically, I painted three thalassoma pavo, one of my favorite fish, for its bright and bright colors. In the largest panel I painted a white shark seen from below: this work hovers above the indoor pool of the T Hotel with a mannequin dressed as a surfer riding it.
I created the series of Medusa, seven canvases in which subjects of the same species sway and dance with each other, letting themselves be carried away by the water: these works have been inserted inside niches illuminated by colored spotlights that enhance their colors and transparencies.
In this new production I have also changed the framing of the subjects: I usually focus my attention on the muzzle and the gaze, the animal is unique, decontextualized from its habitat, caught in a static pose;Here in each canvas different subjects of the same species swim together, there is a lot of dynamism, fusion between the animals and the water that surrounds them.
I let myself be inspired by water to render clarity and fluidity: I chose acrylic as a technique to create the subjects, watercolor colors to make the transparencies of the water, the action painting technique for splashes and sketches.
The series of 12 canvases is dedicated to the species dearest to me in the Mediterranean Sea: seahorses, peacock thrushes, sciarrani, lobsters, red mullet, octopus, spotted rays, parrotfish, scorpion fish, scorpion fish. It is a very small part of the infinite underwater world of the Mare Nostrum, representative of the magnificence of this delicate ecosystem.
Each work is accompanied by a caption in which, on a sea blue background, the scientific name and the common name ennoble and pay homage to the painted animal.
Writes the curator Caterina Ghisu:
Con la mostra SURFISH AL T. Mediterraneo sottosopra, nata da un’idea di Giovanni Ottonello, a cura di Caterina Ghisu, Tramare, T Art, Tiziana Sanna, in collaborazione con il surf designer Fabio Ruina, si avventura nelle profondità del Mar Mediterraneo per proseguire la ricerca sulle specie che vivono in ecosistemi delicati delle sue mostre precedenti: Tiliguerta (2020; 2024), Into the Wild (2021), Golden Love (2022) Tiliguerta - Endangered (2023). Il nuovo capitolo dell’indagine di Tiziana Sanna è dedicato alle specie marine del Mediterraneo, grazie anche alla sua collaborazione con i principali centri regionali che si occupano del recupero, della tutela e della conservazione della fauna marina (CReS – Centro di Recupero del Sinis, CRTM - Laguna di Nora, la Rete regionale per la conservazione della Fauna Marina Sardegna, il CNR – IAS), in perfetta sintonia con l’obiettivo 14 dell’Agenda 2030 delle Nazioni Unite per lo Sviluppo sostenibile, Conservare e utilizzare in modo durevole gli oceani, i mari e le risorse marine per uno sviluppo sostenibile e il Progetto Remedies dell’Unione Europea, che monitora le micro e macroplastiche in otto zone del Mar Mediterraneo.
Tiziana Sanna ci mostra la fragilità della sopravvivenza delle varie specie acquatiche del Mediterraneo, dalla quale non siamo scissi: anche noi, per il nostro benessere, dipendiamo dalla biodiversità marina.
Sulle tavole da surf realizzate da Fabio Ruina, Tiziana Sanna ci invita a guardare con occhi nuovi i colori smaglianti delle varie specie di Donzelle, mentre, sulle tele, ci ipnotizza con le danze sinuose delle meduse o ci sorprende per la descrizione minuziosa delle textures dei carapaci dei crostacei, delle razze maculate, degli scorfani o degli ippocampi. Nella sua interpretazione del mondo acquatico, Tiziana Sanna abbandona i forti contrasti cromatici delle serie precedenti, per raccontare una personale memoria dell’acqua, fatta di colori diluiti, acquarellati ed evanescenti, con schizzi che sono un suo omaggio all’action painting.
In SURFISH AL T. Mediterraneo sottosopra, si entra in empatia con gli animali dipinti da Tiziana Sanna per riflettere sulla magnificenza dell’ecosistema marino.