Nests

Cambiano, Italy (Jul 24, 2003)

These are actual nests, made of iron and clay for little birds with a keen sense for art. They are part of a permanent exhibition at the MUNLAB, “eco-museum” of clay, dedicated to the ancient art of the lavoration of clay and the lives of the workers of the Furnace of Cambiano. Cambiano is a small village in the north west of Italy, near Torino. The furnace has been the focus of the activity in the area for a century, since 1907 the stage for the lives of its workers and an essential part of its culture. The museum, created in the space once occupied by the old “Hoffmann” furnace, aims to document the story of all these lives, their work and tradition, and is used for temporary and permanent exhibitions and for educational activities with the schools of the area. Part of the terrain around the furnace has been converted into a naturalistic reservation, after recovering the traditional ecology of the area.

I am saying all this, and posting this photo, because yesterday I received an email from a friend of mine, who studied physics with me at the University of Torino. She is part of the family that in this last century owned the furnace, and she is now the main force driving the activity of the eco-museum. Even though I am on the other side of the ocean, she keeps sending me the announcements of the activities she is organizing, which makes me happy because keeps alive my bond with the part of the world from where I came from. Next Saturday they are organizing an evening with italian volunteers in Burundi, an african country coming back to life after 30 years of civil war, about the project of cooperation and reconstruction of houses for 1,500 families that these volunteers are carrying over.

The nests are made by my friend’s father. They stand in front of the furnace-museum, clay and iron turned into a living space, testimonial of a place that was able to renovate itself, and give new life and hope to its community and a to little country on the other side of the world.