Sri Yantra | Brescia

SRI YANTRA

August 29 - September 6, 2008 | video-sound installation | Vittoriale degli Italiani, Gardone, Brescia

Conceived for Notturni Dannunziani exhibition project

The red torsos derived from Canova’s plaster figures in EMERGING (2006) — digitally manipulated photographs that reimagined Neoclassical form through reflective silver film — find a further development in SRI YANTRA (2008). This work continues Andrea Morucchio’s exploration of the body as a site of transformation, extending his creative process from photography to sculpture, and from sculpture to performance.

In this case, the torso portrayed is that of the artist himself. Through a performative act centered on breath and meditation, Morucchio transforms his own body into the medium and meaning of the work. The video consists of a single, continuous shot of the artist’s red-toned torso, upon which the Sri Yantra symbol — tattooed directly onto his skin — becomes the central visual and conceptual element of the installation.

The Sri Yantra, an ancient Hindu diagram symbolizing the cosmic union of masculine and feminine, order and chaos, light and darkness, embodies the synthesis of opposites that pervades Morucchio’s practice. In SRI YANTRA, this symbol anchors the relationship between the corporeal and the transcendental, functioning as both sacred geometry and personal mark.

As the artist inhales and exhales to the rhythm of a Tibetan mantra of disarticulated polyphony, the body itself becomes elastic, a living surface in continuous transformation. The expansion and contraction of the abdomen dissolve anatomical boundaries, suggesting a return to a primordial androgyny — a reconciliation of dualities through the simple, vital act of breathing.

Conceived for the project Notturni Dannunziani – Man Between Eros and Nature at the Vittoriale degli Italiani, the installation consists of a looped video rear-projected onto a semi-transparent screen, accompanied by the sound composition TibetanGranularSintesisRitual by Alessandro Ragazzo, specifically created for this work. The interplay of image and sound generates a meditative environment where breath and vibration merge into a cyclical, immersive rhythm.

SRI YANTRA was created in direct dialogue with the aesthetic and philosophical universe of Gabriele D’Annunzio. The work resonates with D’Annunzio’s vision of art as a meeting point of sensuality, mysticism, and nature. The fusion of the erotic and the spiritual in Morucchio’s piece mirrors the poet’s own pursuit of unity between body and cosmos, desire and transcendence. The performative gesture—rooted in rhythm, vibration, and breath—translates D’Annunzio’s celebration of eros as a vital force that connects human and natural energies.

In SRI YANTRA, Morucchio transforms his own physical presence into a symbolic and aesthetic catalyst. The performative gesture, the tattooed sacred diagram, and the act of breathing fuse into a unified field of perception — a continuum between body and spirit, matter and energy, presence and transcendence.

Notturni Dannunziani exhibiting artists Andrea Morucchio, Giuseppe Rivadossi, Stefano Bombardieri, Sergio Battarola, Stefano Mazzanti