Youth of the hills
Youth of the Hills is a German armored tank from the second World War, reproduced to scale and covered with sheets of paper on which prayers in Hebrew are printed. Out of these prayers beetles which live typically in the Middle East and spend much of the day under the sand are cut out. The beetle becomes a symbol of affiliation and stratification of a population in its own territory. Linked to it are religious beliefs which give strength and cohesion to the population while being perceived also as at the root of a dramatic territorial dispute. In the Jewish culture, prayers are sacred and cannot ever be destroyed. This became a central question for the work. The insects are planned in a reversible fashion and at any moment they can be unfolded restating the integrity of the pages. No part of the prayer is thus missing or destroyed. The work is part of a wider body of work in which Ruffo seeks to express the contradictions and aspirations of people living in areas of conflict.
Nato a Roma nel 1978, Pietro Ruffo è laureato in architettura. Nel 2009 vince il Premio Cairo e nel 2010 il Premio New York con una borsa di ricerca presso l’Italian Academy for Advanced Studies alla Columbia University, e l’ISCP, The International Studio & Curatorial Program di New York. Nel 2012 ha svolto una residenza presso la Nirox Foundation di Johannesburg, Sudafrica, e nel 2013 presso Fountainhead Residency Program di Miami.
Tra le principali mostre personali: Terra Incognita, Delhi; SPAD SVII, GNAM, Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna, Roma; The Political Gymnasium, Blain Southern Londra; A complex Istant, Mosca, progetto speciale per la quarta Biennale di Mosca; Irhal Irhal, Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Roma; Six Nations, Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Roma. Ha inoltre esposto per musei e fondazioni italiane e straniere, tra cui: MAXXI Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Roma; Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato; Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Los Angeles; Centro Arti Visive Pescheria, Pesaro; Museo d’Arte della Città di Ravenna; Museum of Art and Design, New York; MACRO, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Roma; Tenerife Espacio de Las Artes, Spagna; Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan. I suoi lavori fanno parte di diverse collezioni museali e fondazioni private come Deutsche Bank Foundation; MAMBO Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna; MACRO, Roma; Fondazione MAXXI, Roma; Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Ravenna; Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Roma; Fondazione Giuliani, Roma; Depart Foundation, Roma e Los Angeles; Fondazione Guastalla
