RURALE
The Rural project proposes to carry out an exploration of the contemporary Italian countryside, an apparently domestic landscape, but surprisingly alien when seen through the broader lens of the values and cultural contexts that preceded it, of the socio-economic assumptions that shaped it and of the future visions they foreshadow. Starting from this analysis, Hilario Isola's works are translated into subtle and evocative images characterized by a strong symbolic value. The works are presented that refer, both for technique and for the imaginary, to etching widely used for illustrations in botanical and exploration books, and used on a large scale in the artistic field with great refinement of execution. Those that appear to us from afar as large engravings or drawings turn out to be light sculptures made with an innovative technique introduced by the artist.The works are created by assembling and overlapping several layers of agricultural nets used to protect the plantations from hail and invasion of parasites. The nets produced on a large industrial scale are meticulously sewn by hand and the overlapping of signs created generate plays of chiaroscuro and interact with the light and shadows on the wall. The experimental aspect of these works and the exploratory nature of this project lead us to a new vision of the countryside, distant and alien to that described by the landscape architects, explorers and artists from whom Hilario Isola takes inspiration.
