Counter Phenomena

Counter Phenomena was erected in July 2006, on a hill within the Tuscan landscape, nearby an Etruscan grave archeological site which exists in the Pagani De Marchi Estate – La Nocera wineyards.

This sculptural piece works in several contextual layers: a formal level, a conceptual level and a phenomenal level.
In the formal level the piece suggests a dialogue with the physical character of the site, with its parallelogram rows of cypress trees that crowns it, and with its close landscape geometry. In the conceptual level this piece opens a contemporary dialogue with the ancient culture of the Etruscans, for whom this landscape used to be central to their life, as it is today for the people of Casale Marittimo. This dialogue is suggested in the relation between the Etruscan archeological site plan and the geometry of the sculptural space, their materials and their position relative to sky and sun. The third level is for me the apex of the piece, by creating an exceptional place for man’s
A place where both macro phenomena and micro phenomena are encountered, creating a unique environment that calls for the senses to breath and to meet afresh the fragile balance of man’s participation in this universe.

The piece was based around the idea of juxtaposing a macro phenomena together with a micro phenomena, The phenomena of light and sky together with the busy intriguing world of an ant colony. The idea was to construct an “experience” space according to a found ant nest in the field. That is why the design is based on a triangular geometry (“golden” triangular, using 5 basic measures from the fabionacci series 13,21,34,55,89, to create a fabionacci space).
During my research for this piece, I have discussed my project with an Israeli ant scientist, who have pointed me an amazing aspect of the design, by the following question: What kind of an image do you think the ant see on their way out of the nest? – it is usually a circular bright spot of the sky. So in a way, he said, my design act as an extension for the ant’s nest, perceptually and physically. Man is finding himself in between these two phenomena, getting a sense of scale of his place in relation to nature.Text by David Behar – Perahia

curator: Roberta Fossati AS PART OF “Kill the Butterfly” Art festival
Cassale Marittimo, Tuscany, Italy
2006