Pomona is a sculpture of 64 x 59 x 169 cm, made of iron and tar, it is a life-size dog sitting to the floor, resting.

It’s part of a series begun in the late Nineties and early 2000, which sees the stray dogs as a metaphor of our civilization, our way of living places and even to abandon them, as in the case of port cities that lost their commercial function. It’s a core that faces so many important issues, from the exodus to the ability to relate to others, from the social idea of the pack and pack leader to the mix of races and so on.

Excerpts from the technical interview to Velasco Vitali:

“I found the perfect start with building materials, simple things that can be matched also to illegal. The materials chosen then – concrete, tar, rods – have remained the same over time both in that area and in my art . If the dogs were perfect to tell the anarchy of stray dogs, even in an artistic meaning, and helped to better define my signature style. “

“It’s about a month of work, considering that with time – knowing better the materials and their response and workability – I have become faster. Pomona – like all other dog sculptures –  has an internal structure, an armor in iron with the Eiffel Tower’s shape, no matter if then they must be put on concrete, iron or tar. “

“The craftsmanship is very long, once it is set it requires many hours of dedication and repetition. After a few years of experiments, during which I’ve bored friends and sculptors about different materials – clay, plaster, mergers – I tried to put in practice what I was drawing. I had the sense of the third dimension, what I can think I always find a way to make it happen.”

“The drying tar have some lifting, because it does not merge completely to the underlying surface, but in general the material is moved, is not annoying for the artwork. The first dogs are for sure more fragile regarding the welds, some have already been fixed because the rust has blasted some joint points such as ears. “

“I saw tourists jumping and taking pictures while sitting on my dogs. Luckily – as I said – the legs are bearing structures, otherwise they would not stand any more weight than the dog itself. Many of my dogs come back with their tails broken. This says a lot about the relationship between public and artwork, I have a lot of images collected of what have been done with my artworks. “