Afterview : a platform for contemporary art reviews based in the UK
‘One for the Beast’:
Patricia Pisanelli
Originating from Brazil, now residing in London, Patricia Pisanelli is a mixed media sculptor. Her work is a deeply intriguing confluence of material and concept which fascinatingly centres on food and consumption. ‘One for the Beast’ is stone bust of a forest creature, from which moss, spores and lichen appear to naturally grow into a formation of leafy woodland-afro. The work plays on associations of mythical beings and, as the work is hidden over stile and beyond a line of trees, its discovery instils a sense of childlike fantasy. Festival goers are encouraged to pour a drop of their drink at the base of the sculpture. This ceremonial procedure allows guests to pay tribute to a friend or a departed loved one and with their mark of respect, give back to nature.
‘One for the Beast’ is a timely counterpoint to mass consumption, easy as it is, to get carried away in one’s own self-serving revelry, the beastly deity of the forest is a reminder of the importantance of altruism, whether the altruistic nature of the environment or that of human character – both of which are waning under the forces of neoliberalism.
