Stone-Ideas.com 
The basic idea behind the Fondazione Arkad’s collaboration with sculptors from Europe and Hong Kong was unusual: they were to create sculptures together using local materials, namely white marble (from the Apuan Alps), and wood (for which the former crown colony was once known).
The project, which has seen three iterations since 2021, was aptly titled “Fusion.”
Another unique aspect was that parts of the project were carried out remotely: the artists discussed details via video conference, then created their part of the work at home, and finally sent it to their partner on the other side of the world to complete it.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, this type of collaboration suddenly became a necessity.
The individual pieces and the final compositions were repeatedly presented in exhibitions in Seravezza and Hong Kong. The last iteration included a symposium where the artist pairs, each with a partner from Seravezza and Hong Kong, completed their works live in Hong Kong.
A PDF in English, Chinese, and Italian presents the overall project, its concept, and its chronology. It also introduces the ten participating artists. Cristina Conti curated the entire project.
Our photos show the works from “Fusion 3.”
Jacob CARTWRIGHT, Yuen Leung HO: “Circumpunct” (97 x 50 x 110). Informed by the rudimentary elements of geometry, we have taken a line, a plane and a circumference and played with these 2 dimensional elements by bending, folding and intersecting them, creating 3 dimensional form. Interestingly this interplay executed with a playful and casual approach has resulted in a form embodying polarities of gentleness and violence, of pinning down and flight. These dynamics speak of the world’s polarities and bring to mind the circle and dot symbol, or “circumpunct” – one of the most ancient symbols known to man. According to Gnostics, Greek philosophers and the Pythagoreans, the circumpunct represents God, or the Monad – the point of the beginning of creation, and eternity.
Jacob CARTWRIGHT, Yuen Leung HO: “Messenger“ (178 x 55 x 22cm). This sculpture explores balance and tension. Small marble pieces anchor an intentionally unbalanced object, resembling an ancient bird or a shaman’s rattle. The marble fragments look like notes, as if the bird carries messages on its feathers. As a shaman’s rattle, it symbolizes the shaman’s role in bringing back insights and wisdom from other realms. Similarly, artists draw from the world of creativity, offering new interpretations and reflections on reality.
Francesca BERNARDINI, Danny LEE: “Mountain and Streams“ (123 x 33 x 167 cm).A stroke of ink was painted freely, became a cloud from the East, floated gently towards a distant mountain top, remained light for a moment and left behind a beautiful memory. The sculpture represents a mountain and its nearby cloud. The mountain, with its jagged peaks and steep walls, represents the stability and solidity of the earth. Next to it, a cloud sculpted in a lighter material, wood, seems to float gently in the air. The cloud symbolizes the impermanence and mutability of life’s events, in contrast to the eternity of the mountain. The mountain and the cloud, although different in their essence, complement each other, creating a harmonious balance. This contrast between the solid and the ethereal invites viewers to reflect on the duality of nature and the coexistence of seemingly opposing elements and cultures.
Francesca BERNARDINI, Danny LEE: “Once in a Lifetime” (90 x 65 x 32cm). The sculpture represents two different and parallel worlds, offering a simple visual experience. The first world is characterized by elements that evoke nature, with organic and fluid forms that recall the beauty and fragility of the natural environment. The soft lines and materials chosen, wood and marble, create a sense of harmony and tranquility, allowing the viewer to immerse themselves in a dimension of peace and reflection. This stark contrast between the first ovoid element and the wooden element running through it generates a formal and aesthetic balance. The meeting of these two parallel worlds in our sculpture is not only a celebration of their differences, but also an invitation to find a balance between different cultures. Sculpture, with its duality, represents the complexity of the human condition and the need to coexist between two apparently opposing realities.
Aurélien BOUSSIN, Margaret CHU: “Full Moon Flow” (37 x 32 x 19cm).Full Moon Flow is a circular lunar salutation (Chandra Namaskar) that revolves around the mat representing the cyclical nature of life and in particular it is a celebration of our fullness! Full moon is a time to reflect on where we are, where we’ve come from and what we want to offer to the world.
Aurélien BOUSSIN, Margaret CHU: “Moon Phases” (77 x 44 x 80cm). With this sculpture in three elements we have represented the movement of the Moon, the trajectory it follows in space around the Earth, like a step from one continent to another. The eye turns to its lines and shadows which give its slenderness, its delicacy and its lightness. An approach between two different cultures under the look of the same natural satellite: the Moon.
Lorenzo VIGNOLI, Yaman CHAU: “Phoenix” (57 x 57 x 80cm). The soulless body has been filled with the spirit of isolated Phoenix. Through the rebirth from the ashes, one explores a world never before discovered. Joyfully dancing between the Sun and the Moon marking sheer bright steps. Bridges have been built along the way, soaring toward a brand-new Universe. The wings of Phoenix connect with the sculptures created in Fusion 1 and 2, reproposing the theme of Freedom and the sense of lightness that has guided us from the beginning. We decided to deal with the body and wings of Phoenix, an essential form in which to project the body.
Flavia ROBALO, Violet SHUM: “Sono fiume – I am a River” (37 x 85x 137cm). It rains from the sky and the water forms a stream across the mountains. It can go anywhere and create a single thing as a symbol of communion. It baptizes the young woman who, with a carefree gesture, wants to collect the drops that create a waterfall. Bathing is life, flowing water, exchange and transformation.
