A woman stands in the green stillness of a forest, slowly enveloped by a dress that breathes, tightens, and transforms. Woven with shells, ropes, branches—materials gathered and assembled by hand—the costume becomes an extension of the landscape, a living sculpture manipulated by invisible hands. As the fabric closes toward her mouth, the body merges with its surroundings. The air is filled with breath, with the rhythm of insects. Nature is not a backdrop but a presence, both nurturing and suffocating.

madre natura / mother natura

Conceived in Bologna during my Erasmus at the Accademia di Belle Arti, Madre Natura is a video performance that explores the cyclical relationship between body and environment. Through textile, sculpture, and movement, the piece reflects on transformation, silence, and the porous boundary between self and world.

Filmed in L’Orto Botanico dell’Università di Bologna, the work features a hand-crafted costume made of ropes, shells, branches, and fabric—activated by an off-frame rope system manipulated by collaborators. The dress shapes and reshapes the figure, echoing the forces of nature: tension, metamorphosis, growth, and containment.

Madre Natura was first presented in:

Feminino – Espaço d’Artes, Vila Real, Portugal, 2014