Life Guard [Acqua]

Studio Orta - 0933
Studio Orta - 0933_1
Studio Orta - 0933_3
Studio Orta - 0933_4
Studio Orta - 0933-2

Date: 2019
Ref: 0933
Materials: Stretcher bed, wooden mannequin, diverse textiles, webbing, rope, inflatable ring, life ring, various objects, ceramic resin hands and feet
Dimensions: 250w x approx 290 x 188h 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. Life Guard [Acqua] refers back to the artists’ ongoing series OrtaWater since 2005.