Lamassu (With Love and Embers)
CNC sculpture, high-density foamPaws
44 x 68 x 36 cm
Wing
113 x 100 x 12 cm
2017 / 2019
Relaized with the contribution of Mediterranean Landscapes / La Ville Ouverte, for Mediterranea 18, Young Artist Biennale, Tirana 2017
EN
The work, produced with a numerical control machine (CNC) for 3D modeling, relates to two fragments of Lamassu. This anthropomorphic statue from the Assyrian age was a common figure in the territory of Ancient Mesopotamia, found on the gates of cities and buildings. The work is based on a digital rendering of fragments drawn from a 3D-scan of the whole statue. This 3D image was realized as part of the project Virtual Museum of Iraq, a multimedia archive created between 2005 and 2009. The project involved the digitalization and scanning of several artifacts from the Iraqi region. It was financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and produced in the National Research Council laboratories (CNR) with the aim of protecting and promoting the archaeological and artistic heritage of that region.
The work, produced with a numerical control machine (CNC) for 3D modeling, relates to two fragments of Lamassu. This anthropomorphic statue from the Assyrian age was a common figure in the territory of Ancient Mesopotamia, found on the gates of cities and buildings. The work is based on a digital rendering of fragments drawn from a 3D-scan of the whole statue. This 3D image was realized as part of the project Virtual Museum of Iraq, a multimedia archive created between 2005 and 2009. The project involved the digitalization and scanning of several artifacts from the Iraqi region. It was financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and produced in the National Research Council laboratories (CNR) with the aim of protecting and promoting the archaeological and artistic heritage of that region.
The image below portrays two fragments of the Nimrud Lamassu (the front paws and a wing), ruins left after the devastation of the archeological site during the attack of the Islamic State in 2014. The photo below was taken in 2016, on November 15, by a collaborator of the French Press Agency (AFP), after the liberation of the city by the Iraqi army.
IT
L’opera è stata realizzata con una macchina a controllo numerico per la prototipazione di modelli 3D ed é relativa a due frammenti di Lamassu, un'imponente scultura antropomorfa in pietra di epoca assira, diffusa sul territorio della mesopotamia antica con la funzione di sorvegliare gli ingressi delle città e dei palazzi. Il file utilizzato è il risultato di una scansione 3D realizzata a Nimrud (Iraq) tra il 2005 e il 2009 per il Virtual Museum of Iraq, un archivio on-line che raccoglie le principali opere e reperti presenti sul territorio iracheno. L’archivio multimediale è stato finanziato dal Ministero degli Affari Esteri e realizzato nei laboratori del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche con l’obiettivo di salvaguardare e diffondere il patrimonio archeologico ed artistico iracheno.
Le immagini in basso ritraggono i due frammenti di Lamassu (le zampe anteriori e un’ala) a Nimrud dopo la violenta distruzione dei monumenti per mano dei miliziani dello Stato Islamico nel 2014. La fotografia è stata scattata il 15 novembre 2016 da un collaboratore dell’agenzia di stampa francese (l'AFP) dopo la liberazione della città da parte dell’esercito iracheno.
Fragment of Lamassu after its destruction, Nimrud, November 15th, 2016
Photo credit: Safin Hamed, AFP, Getty Images
3D scan of Lamassu at Nimrud, realised for the Virtual Museum of Iraq
Extraction and reconstruction of the 3D model
Lamassu (With Love and Embers) paws, 44 x 68 x 36 cm, 2017
Installation view at Mediterranea 18, Young Artists Biennale
Former Embassy of Yugoslavia, Tirana, Albania, 2017
Photo credit: Fabrizio Vatieri
Lamassu (With Love and Embers) wing, 113 x 100 x 12 cm, 2017
Installation view at La caduta degli Dei, Galleria Michela Rizzo, Venezia, 2019