A distant shore can become a symbol of the Other, of the unknown — of the unconscious — or of what remains unreachable. Sounds evoke the existence of a connection, yet a fragile and uncertain one, unable to fully define itself: a nostalgia for something that continues to withdraw, to slip away.
Fliri’s working method begins with an emphatically sculptural approach, rooted in materiality. The models are created through a manual process: in this case, the artist uses Lego bricks — recalling the mosaic tiles of the Lungomare degli Artisti — to construct the silhouette of his own face. From this matrix, thin surface sheets of transparent plexiglass are produced. The controlled use of a light source, passing through these negative forms, generates an image made of light and shadow. A liquid is also introduced into the volume, capable of producing a unique refraction of the light rays.
The resulting luminous image is fixed photographically, marking the transition from the material to the immaterial. The data from the photographic image are then transferred to a machine — a 3D wood milling machine — which once again returns the image in the form of matter. The lighter areas correspond to raised sections, while the darker ones indicate depth.
At the core of the research lies the concept of “translation”: what happens when one medium is transposed into another? What is lost, what is transformed, and which new properties come to light? Within the silhouette of the head, there are not two eye openings but a multiplicity of holes. This choice opens up a reflection on identity: who we are, and how many different identities coexist simultaneously within each of us.
