In the age of globalization, where different cultural backgrounds find themselves in the so-called melting-pot, it is hard to find forms of expression that diverge from standardized aesthetics and give voice to their folkloristic provenance. Marco Mazzoni is one of those artists who understand the importance of cultural differentiation, and uses it to create his own artistic language, through the exploitment of symbols and fables taken directly from his descendance. A process that begins with a profound study of his own origins, and has the aim to create a dialogue with his peers.
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If we take our time to study Marco Mazzoni’s artistic production, we will find a strong dialogue with the Italian culture, in particular with those Sardinian stories and fables which are deeply connected to his family origins. In Mazzoni’s work, what stands out is a deep interest for the myths of the “healers” and “curers”, a folkloristic subject which is transposed and brought before his peers, in order to develop an understanding of the country they live in.
This specific process allows him to reveal the truth about many cultural aspects that are nowadays misunderstood, like, for instance, the belief in patriarchy as a historical pattern for the Italian population. Through an accurate analysis of his Sardinian origins, Marco Mazzoni has been able to explain that in fact, in past times, some of the most folkloristic Italian amenities had a matriarchal system and saw women as the pivot of their social structure. “I have a Sardinian mother with a very large family. If you look at the stories of that region, you will find that there is a matriarchal system, even in the underworld, where the women tease their husbands to give rise to conflicts with other families. I think it is interesting because in Italy today men are politically macho historically; but if you look back in history men were subordinated to women. I wanted to study the stories to understand the country I live in”.
Marco Mazzoni’s drawings represent womanly figures framed with the elements of flora and fauna, unvealing the power of feminine intimacy, and creating imaginary visions, which are the result of an ecstatic and hallucinatory journey in the artist’s mind. This creative process gives birth to a series of iconic subjects, combined with the presence of “impossible” creatures, which enhance the symbolic meaningfulness of the artwork. In his drawings, tattoos and prints, Mazzoni always retains himself from drawing-in details, such as eyes and specific humanly features, in order not to create a hierarchy between the symbols that are put in display; a choice that allows his work to be labelled as still life, rather than portraiture. The outcome of Marco Mazzoni’s creative process, gives voice to the moment in which feminine figures takes control of all of nature’s elements, while at the same time remain in complete harmony and balance with nature itself.
A research that focuses on a series of naturalistic key points, that places human beings in direct contact with nature and its existential flow, with the elements that define life. An investigation within the abstractness of the symbols, customs, and traditions that make cultural differentiation possible, with the aim to create awarness of our uniqueness, and conscience about our relations with our native environment. In Marco Mazzoni’s latest works, we can find a slight change within the objective of his research; the importance that had been previously given to nature as a proof of one’s provenance, hence the artist’s focus on Sardinian fables and tales as a turning point towards the definition of his own self, has now been substituted by an uncensored representation of nature’s hostility towards humanity. In a society that is constantly abusing of its environment, Mazzoni focuses on the hostility that emerges within natures strive towards a balance without humanity.