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MAGISTER has the shape of an irregular accordion, which as a whole creates a 6-pointed star when viewed from above:
- 6 peaks, like the 6 decades of my life (today I am 52 years old);
- a total of 60 sides, like 60 years of my life at the end of the 6th decade. Only 52 sides are complete right now, the other 8 will be completed one per year over the next 8 years, until I celebrate my 60th year of life.
- every fold, every step, every open space in the accordion represents a moment, a phase, an event in my life as a teacher.
For the creation of MAGISTER I invited dozens of participants: the 52 final contributions evoke their past, their culture, their skills, sometimes their dreams or their fears, perhaps the time and memories that we built together and shared .
MAGISTER is a collaborative artistic project, a sculptural dress that represents the story of my life as a teacher, as a magister (teacher in Latin).
MAGISTER was born from the concept of Evocative Art created by my mentor, friend and textile artist Lydia Predominato, whom I have collaborated since the 1990s with . Thanks to Lydia, it was precisely in those years when I began to explore the possible interactions and integrations between fiber art, textile craftsmanship and fashion design: concepts and techniques that give "dressing the body" a complete and multifaceted meaning.
MAGISTER evokes and collects all the contributions that I myself have received from my mentors, students, colleagues and friends during my life: it is only thanks to these contributions that I have become the teacher I am today, it is these contributions that have made me the teacher I am now.
Working with MAGISTER was like composing a "surprise puzzle": having been born and having studied in Rome, having lived and worked for many years in Puerto Rico, being currently director of an international fashion academy in Amsterdam, the 52 contributions represent dozens of thoughts, ideas, memories, techniques and imagery from countless countries and cultures.
An entirely international and intercultural project without curation: each participant was free to choose the face they preferred, and the technique and materials of their choice. Receiving each piece evoked memories and surprises in me: sometimes I recognized the author's hands in the technique used, other times I discovered moments in the author's life that I knew nothing about.
But this is MAGISTER: the surprise and awareness of 30 years as a teacher, told through the stories experienced by 52 people around the world, proud and happy to be part of a single evocative project.
evocatory
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