Life Guard [Aira]
![Studio Orta - Life Guard [Aira]](https://studio-orta.com/files/image/2/image_1941_thumbnail_en.jpg)
Date:
2019
Ref:
0935
Materials:
Stretcher bed, wooden mannequin, diverse textiles, silk, leather gloves, steel, felt, ceramic resin hands and feet
Dimensions:
100 x 100 x 188(h) cm
Exhibition history:
2019 Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, Museo Novencento, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy
Courtesy:
Lucy + Jorge Orta
The Life Guard sculptures Aira, Fuoco, Terra (Amazonia) and Acqua take their inspiration from the four basic founding elements: air, fire, earth and water represented within the allegorical frescoes of the Sala degli Elementi of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, where they were first exhibited in 2019. Echoing the mythological gods and divinities depicted in the frescoes, these Life Guards are surrounded by an array of symbolic objects referencing the increasing diminishing resources –water, clean air, energy, biodiversity–, and evoke the need to develop more sustainable ways of using, protecting and conserving them in the future.