“Some say it’s my eyes, but that’s not the case.” With a joke, the artist Ozmo recounted, on the sidelines of the official ribbon cutting this morning, his “Yesterday today tomorrow” which will welcome those who come to visit Galleria Sella, once a refuge from the bombings and now a museum complex where for a moment you can also share the anguish of the deafening and devastating noise of a city tormented by bombs. At the end of every war there comes, even if briefly, a moment of peace and the artist Ozmo wanted to set it in a pair of joyful, childish eyes, full of hope. They have no sex and bring shades of blue to them.
The work had already been noticed in recent days by numerous citizens who immortalized it and, in some cases, spread it on social media. Having overcome curiosity and without official explanations, this morning the work was revealed with a small hitch and without any “official approval”, the tarpaulin almost fell almost suddenly. Shortly before, both Ozmo and mayor Peracchini exposed the work and its meaning in front of an audience of children, citizens and representatives of local cultural institutions.
“The work created by Ozmo at the entrance to the former Quintino Sella Antiaircraft Shelter – said the mayor – amplifies the emotions felt inside, where the simulation of the bombing of 18 April 1943 allows us to experience the intensity and the fear of those dramatic moments on our skin. The eyes of that child speak to each of us and burden us with responsibility, they are smiling eyes, full of hope and life. However, man’s actions are often capable of causing enormous tragedies and removing all light from the gaze of people, including the most innocent. Our duty is to work and commit ourselves for peace and this work is here to remind us of this every day. I thank Ozmo for his work and for these days here in La Spezia.”
In addition to the artist’s signature in recent days at the beginning of the staircase on the Via Prione side. On the sidelines of the presentation, Ozmo explained, in addition to the origin of that look, the techniques used. “There are those who say they are my childhood eyes – he says smiling – but they are not. I did a series of tests, I always make digital drafts because to contextualise I always have to create these overlays, to then check with the pictorial area how certain subjects and compositions turn out. At the premiere I took this image and reproduced it: it was perfect. It could be a boy, a girl: the important thing is that they have become a symbol, regardless of where he got them. It is the transformation of a work that becomes iconic.”
With a public deed, signed by the administration, for the first time a city space was officially granted to art on the walls signed by an internationally known artist. This happens in a city that is no longer very young, so the reception of the work itself was implicit among the unknowns.
“I’m happy to have worked here – he adds -. I have already had the first museum exhibitions in Italy and also in Europe, we must also consider Keith Haring, Basquiat: they were street artists and graffiti artists. I believe that art, even of underground origin, holds its own and is welcomed in different contexts, if it resists the impact it simply becomes art. I also try to reject labels, I always say that I prefer to be called an artist. There have been numerous vicissitudes in my career, I am mentioned in the Treccani… perhaps I am already old (laughs, Ed)”.
“Yesterday today tomorrow” has a peculiarity that exploits the “Mona Lisa effect”. “The illusion of the gaze following us is created, but it transforms the side walls into a space of celestial radiant light – said the artist during the presentation -. It is a work that can only be fully appreciated in person, as photos fail to capture the dynamism of the child who seems to turn his head to follow the viewer, generating a strong emotional impact. The symbol of the child is timeless and embodies all generations, as suggested by the title, evoking Peace and purity and openness, representing an optimistic vision of the future. This work transforms the city’s memory of war and destruction into a universal message of renewal and hope.”
The Galleria Sella work will also have to be maintained despite the artist having used particular, particularly resistant paints. Yesterday, today and tomorrow he will also have to deal with water infiltrations. The artist and his team reported the matter and also intervened with cement to protect the work. Ultraviolet rays are another element that could disturb the work but there is a but.
“Fortunately this area – added Ozmo – is not so exposed to ultraviolet rays but we have nevertheless created some protection. We always try to create a work that lasts as long as possible. The sun and the rain always win (laughs, Ed), there’s nothing to do”. He was asked: “So sooner or later you will have to come back?” He said goodbye smiling and indulging in a joke: “I’m always happy to come back, but we hope to see each other in 10 or rather 15 years.”
