#EmbracingVenice: Saype & Lavazza Group with "Beyond Walls"

Once upon a time graffiti would appear on the walls of buildings to denounce social injustice. Today it blooms across fields, thanks to paints with biodegradable pigment, to emphasise the importance of environmental protection. On the occasion of World Earth Day and the inauguration of the 59th edition of the Biennale d'Arte, #EmbracingVenice, a new chapter of the world-touring land art project Beyond Walls by Saype, will go on show in Venice. Two intertwined hands, a gesture of mutual exchange and solidarity, are the protagonists of the fresco created by the French-Swiss painter on a lawn sown atop a typical Venetian floating pontoon – the location for the latest leg of a project that has already visited a number of countries around the globe. After starting from Champ de Mars, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and having frescoed the grass in Turin’s archaeological garden and around a dozen other symbolic locations, Saype presents a new work blending street and land art, which floats on water. An “ephemeral” work, inspired by mandalas – the sand drawings of the Buddhist tradition – whose longevity is linked to natural phenomena such as rainfall and the cycle of growth of the grass. An artistic union focused on responsible art, that aims to stimulate reflection on the role we should all play in respecting the world that we live in.

«Venice reflects the challenges of climate change» comments Saype. «Being able to bring the hands of Beyond Walls to its canals during the Biennale is an opportunity to share a message of hope and remind us that the relationship between man and nature must be at the forefront of our minds.»

 

Saype is a pseudonym born from a melding of the English words Say and Peace. The man behind it is Guillaume Legros, an artist born in 1989 in France, but raised in Switzerland on a diet of graffiti. Today he is famous the world over for his paintings on grass, focusing on the themes of the environmental crisis and global citizenship. His monumental works are deliberately ephemeral, created using a painting technique that employs biodegradable pigment based on charcoal and chalk, fixed to the ground with casein, a milk protein.

 

«Saype’s art bears witness to the ever-closer relationship between the visual arts and sustainability» affirms Francesca Lavazza, Board Member of the Lavazza Group. «In the full spirit of our Goal Zero programme, we have chosen World Earth Day to awaken the collective consciousness on the issue of the delicate balance between man and the natural environment, and the need to act to foster change.» 

 

In addition to the presentation of Saype’s “grass-fiti”, our collaboration with the artist and the Venice Pavilion will concentrate on the ancillary events to the exhibition, with a series of appointments at the Venice Pavilion to discuss initiatives aimed at mitigating the environmental emergencies that threaten unique places such as the lagoon city itself, or particularly vulnerable crops such as coffee.