Master of Mistakes

 

If we were to collect all the mistakes we have made or even only considered, they would fill more than a large room. And how could we formally represent our mistakes? Maybe with a crumpled sheet of paper, because bad ideas get thrown away, unrealised projects don't get picked up, they get quickly filed away, but are we really sure they didn't leave some trace?

And mistakes are heavy, sometimes like boulders, and turn into a sense guilt, regret and remorse. Piling them all up together, they can reach half a tonne in weight, then they roll over and crush you, even if they do not fall on top of you. These were the reflections of Daniele Sigalot when he created 'Master of Mistakes'. This work is an opportunity for self-analysis that is also directed towards others, towards the spectator, as is the case with other works by the artist who specialises in exploiting the ambiguity of materials. A shape that seems light becomes heavier by accumulation; this is not a pipe and it is not even a sheet of paper, but it’s a piece of aluminium, and one on top of another, they become a giant figure, nothing valiant or heroic, but a monument dedicated to that which we would like to forget about ourselves.

Sigalot is tough, his art is not intended to be consolatory: he confronts us with his and our mistakes, he makes us think and rethink. Among the many expressive art forms, sculpture is the one that conveys the most certainty; it is assertive, conveying often uncomfortable truths, especially when it is complex. However, Daniele is also an aesthete, a sophisticated creator who loses himself in working with materials and ideas that he always transforms into beautiful and self-contained objects. Imagine for a moment you were to move this gigantic white steel ball into your home: you would have an almost perfect sculpture that nevertheless forces you to live together with your mistakes and reflect on them every time you pass it by.

In recent years, Culture has become a crucial element in Aeroporti di Roma’s development strategy, promoting art in all its forms with the purpose of conveying to the wider public of the beauty of Italy and its territory, history and identity, and to raise awareness among travellers and the airport community on the fundamental issues of sustainability and protecting the environment. By transforming the airport into a place of contamination and insight, the intention is to offer all the people who move daily through 'Leonardo da Vinci' Airport an opportunity for reflection.

‘Master of Mistakes’ is a visual panacea and touches our very essence, which is what we look for in a work of art: to satisfy us aesthetically and provoke deep reflection.

Daniele Sigalot's work has been installed at Fiumicino Airport since 4 April; he particularly likes the airport space because he the audience—who will see his work and how—is unknown. Outside the protections of the context, the sculpture is intended for the inscrutable yet biographical spectator: each viewer will see in it what they want to find.

DANIELE SIGALOT
(Rome 1976)

After spending 7 years in advertising without managing to convince anyone to buy things they didn’t need, Sigalot decided to move into the art world, where there is a greater need for the superfluous. So he left  in London to move first to Berlin, where, in order not to disappoint well-established Italian stereotypes, and than to Naples and back to Rome, his hometown.  he called his studio La Pizzeria. His works have been exhibited at Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, Reggia di Caserta, Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, Triennale in Milan and Palazzo Reale in Naples.