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Today we discover the 6 objects that are dear to a woman who is an institution - in the true sense of the word. Maria Cristina Finucci, originally from Lucca, Italy, and really a citizen of the world, is an architect by training and profession, as well as an established international artist. In recent decades her creative language has led her to found the Garbage Patch State, a national entity that represents those 16 million square kilometers of plastic floating abandoned in the middle of the oceans. Her state is recognized by all major international institutions, but we cannot visit it. It has now long been present in the collective imagination, but for the first time this massive problem is able to "speak" to us through Wasteland, the series of art installations that Maria Cristina has taken to Paris, Venice, Madrid, Rome, New York, but also to the headquarters of the UN and UNESCO, to Zaha Hadid's MAXXI Museum in Rome, as well as to Mozia, Sicily, and other important cultural centers in the world.
Maria Cristina's artistic message, therefore, starts from the marine emergency and spreads through a completely new dialectic in which plastic materials (not only waste materials, but above all elements selected and composed according to very precise criteria), interact on various levels with universities, cultural centers, urban landscapes, public and private environments, thus regaining a direct relationship with their legitimate owners: producers and consumers. intOndo invites you to discover more about the Garbage Patch State and its creator.
1. A plate made by Frediano
This is the object I treasure most in the world. A plate that my firstborn son, Frediano, gave me for Mother's Day when he was still in elementary school in New York. It represents our family abroad, even more, so all in the same boat under a heart formed by many strands hovering in the sky. The clever thing about the design in my opinion is how he was able to use the sea as a decorative element that contours the plate.
2. Black pearl necklace
This black pearl necklace was given to me by my husband twenty years ago. He was looking for these pearls that are rare and with a good dose of difficulty, he brought them from Japan. They are among the last ones because due to the pollution of the seas these particular oysters no longer reproduce. Who knows if this was the germ that made me, later on, start my battle for the safeguard of the oceans.
3. Electric Piaggio Vespa
This is the last, in order of time of the series of Vespas I have had, and it is electric! It doesn't emit exhaust gases, it doesn't make noise and I love it. The previous Vespa was red and lasted fifteen years. For me the Vespa means freedom, it has become almost an extension of myself, a bit like my skis that lately I wear less and less. That's it: riding my Vespa, it is almost like skiing for me.
4. Electric eraser
When we moved to NY in 1989, I started visiting a number of architectural firms. People were still drawing by hand and I could see that everyone was using the electric eraser. Anyone familiar with ink drawing knows that ink is indelible, but not for this eraser. In any case, even with any type of pencil, the ability to erase millimeters cleanly is very important. This little tool was a turning point for me, it still works and I use it all the time, it has accompanied me all these years in my drawings. Even my children when they were small used it, it is almost a family member.
5. Maria Cristina Finucci: Help, a book edited by Silvia Burini Giuseppe Barbieri, Rizzoli, 2020
This book, published by Rizzoli, is a recent object, but since it is a monograph of mine, it tells the whole story of my professional life. The editors wrote it during the first lockdown. We had zoom sessions almost every day during which I retraced my entire career and answered questions that I had never asked myself and that instead made me discover sides of my work that I had never imagined, a sort of psychoanalysis. In addition, I was forced to organize my photographic archives, an activity that led me to rediscover images that I didn't even remember anymore. A very intense work, it is as if I had finally untied some knots, very liberating.
6. 18th-century console table
When I was a teenager and a bit of a rebel, I loved modern things and considered antique furniture and objects in my home to be old-fashioned. As a reaction, I furnished our first house with a modern style using design furniture I had always wanted. Over time, however, I began to appreciate objects with a history that I like to mix with contemporary ones. Now I treasure the beautiful furniture I inherited and I cherish every object, every book, every painting that speaks of my family. This 18th-century consòle is one of my favorite pieces that I put in a coeval barn in Maremma. The contrast is strong, but in my opinion also wonderful.
