Pro itu et Reditu

Pro itu et Reditu is inspired by a specific type of “petrosomatoglyphs” belonging to a network of ancient votive plates encountered across the Mediterranean. Consisting of footprints or engraved representations of sandals, they are associated with pilgrimage, when the traveller would place his feet in the footprints to mark the beginning or end of her undertaking (itus et reditus).

In the work, a graphic interpretation of a footprint is reproduced in ceramic, incorporating at the same time ideas of stasis and permanence but also notions of mobility, of a body in transit, or even, a missing body. The reproduction of the upper part of a plastic sandal in oxidized bronze further highlights other processes of transformation: from the plasticity of commodities to the rigidity of the archaeological fragment; from antique practices of pilgrimage and trade to contemporary tourism.