LIGHTSCAPE

Biji Art Space, Ubud, Bali – 2024

a Solo Exhibition curated by Soemantri Widagdo

InnoEU Art the Netherlands

“LightSCAPE features the artist’s latest works on DEEP SEA, aquatic mammals, and creatures in a unique and novel way.” Soemantri Widagdo

“Perspective shapes our reality! It’s the interplay of reflections that bends the truth.
In my art, I explore the relationship between humans and nature, and the conflicts we have with it. I am inspired by my surroundings and situations that affect me most, diving deep into my emotions and confronting my fears of the unknown and phobias, such as fear of the dark and fear of what will happen next. I strive to transform these emotions into a language others may understand or connect with. In this art project, I literally dive into an underwater world of the unknown, showing how this world is extremely beautiful and fragile, and how deeply it is affected by us.” Alessio Ceruti

An Italian artist who lives and works in a scenic diving town at the easternmost edge of Bali, Indonesia. He is a skilled diver and an environmentalist working for the preservation, conservation and restoration of coral reefs. These aquatic activities are the wellspring of his artistic inspiration and creativity.

Alessio started by photographing sea mammals and other ocean creatures, such as the magnificent jellyfish. Jellyfish have no brain, blood or heart. Their transparent body consists of an outer layer, called the epidermis; a middle layer made of a thick, elastic, jelly-like substance called mesoglea; and an inner layer, called the gastrodermis.” (As described by the American National Ocean Service). The iconic shape of a jellyfish is a bell-like mushroom cap, with tentacles and oral arms which contain stinging cells.

Alessio’s creative process starts with imprinting the picture of a jellyfish on a plexiglass sheet that is softened with heat and shaped under the weight of dead corals placed under or above it. He carefully controls the amount of heat, temperature and length of time. A back layer is added which is made opaque to reflect the light back to the viewer. An outer layer is created with a rather thick plexiglass sheet, that can be hand-painted in different colors, textures and hues. The result is a contoured/topological surface which reflects and refracts light; creating a spectacular reflection that also serves as a magical mirror.

Analogous to the jellyfish body, Alessio assembles three key layers to form a unique work of art: a 3D light journey that cannot be obtained otherwise, giving the illusion of a floating jellyfish with Fauvist colors.

His novel process creates interactions between the composite elements of photography, paint, and the dance of light; on a topography created by gravity, heat and ingenuity. The viewers are hence transported and immersed into the magical artistic world of Cerutis mind.

Soemantri Widagdo

Over the Caspian sea, 22 April 2024.

References:

1. What are jellyfish made of? – US National Ocean Service

2. The anatomy of Jelly fish – Research Gate