II THE WHITE WORK
(Cultivating shared transformation through living spatial practice)- place
- Nazzano, Italy
- COLLABORATOR
- Comune di Nazzano
- TYPE
- Living installation / Land art / Performative cultivation
- PRACTICE FOCUS
- Spatial ritual, performative environments, and collective transformation
- MATERIALS
- Mediterranean plants — laurel (Laurus nobilis), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), lavender (Lavandula), elicriso (Helichrysum italicum) — prepared soil, site-specific natural materials
A three-part performative series following stages of alchemical transformation through site-specific spatial interventions. II – The White Work forms the second chapter and engages with purification and clarity — preparing space so that new growth can emerge.
The project took place in a small Italian municipality approximately ninety minutes from Rome, where permission was granted to establish the installation on the slope of the central hill near the local church. While the first chapter focused on dissolution, this work turned toward life, cultivation, and the conditions necessary for growth.
Working with plant species native to the Mediterranean climate, the installation addressed the layered history of vegetation in Italy, where many species introduced since Roman times are not fully adapted to local ecological conditions. Following research into indigenous and climate-resilient plants, a selection of thirty-two specimens was chosen: eight laurel (Laurus nobilis), eight rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), eight lavender (Lavandula), and eight elicriso (Helichrysum italicum).
Over the course of three days, the soil was prepared and a laurel grove was planted during continuous rainfall. The installation is conceived as a long-term living work: the plants themselves carry the performative dimension, continuing to grow, spread, and transform the site over time. Today, the grove forms a slowly evolving environment in which the scent of lavender and the shade of laurel trees shape an emerging micro-landscape.
