Since 1998, MARIA has been installed in cathedrals, churches, universities and art centers throughout Europe and Asia.
In the exhibitions and installations that Guido Detoni della Grazia conceives and creates, we are invited to hold a reproduction of the original sculpture in our hands. As music and fragrance accompany us, we see 33 MARIA statues, carved in wood or marble from around the world, suspended within glass columns in the presence of her enlarged marble figure.
When she is so small that she disappears in our hand, we perceive her by touch, and when she is contained in glass or enlarged in marble, we perceive her only by sight. When our hands contain the reproduction of the original, we perceive her simultaneously by both touch and sight.
The structure and geometry of the installations – triangle, square, cross and alpha-omega – reinforce the symbolism of the Icon MARIA. The glass columns emanate light and the earth from which they rise evokes fertility. The MARIA statue is always the same one repeated 33 times and reminds us of the years Her Son lived on earth: they are all a reproduction of the original shaped with wax, then dressed with different woods or marbles from all over the planet.
The stationary statues and their reflection within the glass columns envelop the viewer and seem to move by varying the viewpoints through the installation.
