Glass Corals

My Fragile Creatures

I have always found the complex world of corals extremely fascinating.

At first glance, these animals may seem apparently simple but in reality, they hide a great complexity.

I find it extraordinary how each coral manages to develop a unique branching and a different aesthetic. Each species has its own characteristics and although different, corals work together to create majestic aquatic forests. They thus become real colonies and societies of different elements which are at the same time closely linked.

In my “glass corals” I try to capture the perfect and immobile asymmetry of their complex structure, thus celebrating the richness of marine biodiversity.

I chose to praise the beauty and elegance of these creatures through the transparent glass and also to talk about the phenomenon of coral bleaching.

I think that the clarity of this expressive material is able to clearly evoke the fragility of these living beings, to tell us about their subtle existence that becomes suspended between life and death due to climate change.

Many corals form a symbiotic relationship with a class of microalgae, the zooxanthellae. Among their many features, they also deal with the photosynthesis process that gives the animal its wonderful color. Corals stressed by rising ocean temperatures, however, expel their zooxanthellae, leading to the bleaching of the same. This form of “vent” allows the algae to be recovered at a later time but if the stress conditions persist, the polyps that cover the coral eventually die.

My intent is to make their intricate lives be admired, making people aware of the slight balance that keeps these beings alive, emphasizing the extreme frailty of these creatures. Through my corals I celebrate their fragile magnificence, trying in my way to preserve their beauty and thus remembering the great wonder we are surrounded by.

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