Water and clay are central to the work of Alessandro Biggio, a Cagliari-born artist who reflects on the concept of identity and offers an open, deconstructed representation of it—one that moves beyond the constraints of physiognomic resemblance. The artist is not focused on the figurative outcome but rather on the transitional, transformative process. After sculpting portraits in clay, Biggio dissolves them in water so that they lose all semblance and traceability of the faces. The resulting mixture is then imprinted onto cotton sheets, which are subsequently torn and dried, as if to obtain a “universal portrait” with no remaining formal reference to the human figure, evoked instead in an abstract manner. Drawings also emerge from the clay dust, created through engraving techniques. The process is documented in a video that represents this ritual of transformation.
Casa Selma, Casa dei russi
Alessandro Biggio (1974) lives and works between Cagliari and Calasetta. He holds a degree in Economics and Commerce from the University of Cagliari. In his practice—deeply rooted in the places where he works—experimentation with various materials, both natural and synthetic, plays a fundamental role, particularly with ash, clay, and polyurethane.
His sculptures, drawings, and installations are the outcome of lengthy processes in which form and disintegration coexist in a delicate balance.
