The Flock
"The Flock" is a modular installation that invites a direct reading, unfiltered by conceptual interpretations. From a distance, it appears as a large, dynamic object hovering above the square, visible in different forms from every access road. Upon approaching, its true nature is revealed: the flock represented by the sculpture is a negative of reality, where the birds become light projected onto the square’s pavement, carved out within a large collective shadow.
This concept places great emphasis on the idea of dynamism: from a perceptual standpoint, the visual experience is never the same but constantly changes depending on the access road or angle within the square. In this way, "The Flock" invites the observer to walk around it in order to fully understand it.
Wind and sunlight actively contribute to the sculpture’s dynamic experience. The strength and direction of the wind will cause varying oscillations in each individual module, which together give passersby the impression of continuous movement—like a flock in flight. The sun's rays, combined with the varying inclinations of the canopy relative to the ground, will cast the silhouettes of birds onto the square’s pavement. These will be negative shadows of a flock that enhance the three-dimensional quality of the piece, while also serving the simple function of providing shade.
The structural system is composed of two parallel steel cables (1.2), each 20 mm in diameter, tensioned across the furthest points of the square (1.5). Attached to these at regular intervals are aluminum tubes of varying lengths (1.3), which anchor 5 mm diameter steel cables (1.4) forming the load-bearing skeleton of the flock. The flock itself consists of approximately 1,200 laser-cut modules made from co-extruded PVC foam sheets with a recycled core and white surface (1.1). Holes at the corners of each module allow them to be connected with plastic ties, linking the elements to one another and to the lower steel cables."
TORNANO OGNI ESTATE
TYPE PUBLIC INSTALLATION. YEAR 2015. PLACE SALERNO, ITALY.
CLIENT COMUNE DI SALERNO, INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OMBRE D'ARTISTA.
STATUS WINNING PROJECT, BUILT (SUMMER 2016).
PERFORMED SERVICES CONCEPT AND DESIGN, RENDERING, MOCK-UPS PRODUCTION. SOFTWARE: RHINO+GRASSHOPPER.
DESIGN TEAM NURIA BERNAL RIVERA(DESIGN TEAM), BRUNO CIMMINO(LOCAL ARCHITECT), ORIGINBASE MAKER-SPACE DUBAI(CONSULTANCY, PROTOTYPING TOOLS).[ITA]
