Protecziun da la patria, 2018

The floating sculpture is an interpretation of a naval mine, a large sphere equipped with 20 bumpers placed symmetrically between them. It's a harmless version of a war device in use during recent historical world wars.
Its position in Switzerland, a neutral nation and the historic seat of world organisations active in the defence of peace, raises controversial contemporary visions regarding the defence of the integrity of borders and the “free” migration of people on Earth.
From a first superficial perception of alarm and danger, after a more careful observation, we pass to the exorcism of the war potential in favour of an anthropomorphic reading that can be linked to the roundness of the shape and to the quiet snouting in the “closed sea”, Lake Lugano.

It is a spherical floating sculpture made of Cor-Ten steel, with a diameter of approximately 120 cm, designed for the exhibition Mutazioni in difesa della natura and situated on the surface of Lake Lugano.

The form – a perfect sphere featuring symmetrical protrusions – immediately brings to mind the structure of a naval mine: a weapon of war rendered harmless here, reduced to pure volume without its offensive function. The spherical mass, isolated on the water, is a sign of a formal paradox: an object of war, stripped of its destructive power, is re-established as a visual presence, a body in space, a primary form in its essentiality.

The installation evokes a dual response: alarm and reassurance. At first glance, the sphere conjures up the threat, the lethal device; but its neutralisation and the choice of setting—a lake, nestled within a neutral nation and home to international peace organisations—defuse the bellicose intent, steering the viewer towards another interpretation: the spherical form as an anthropomorphic and organic symbol. Its flotation on the water’s surface accentuates this dual nature, suspending the work between ‘threat’ and ‘tranquil presence’, between historical memory and a natural element.

Cor-Ten steel, a durable industrial construction material, lends the form a visual robustness that contrasts with the ephemeral nature of its floating state. The sphere is not fixed in place, nor is it anchored to the ground; it is subject to the undulations of the water, and to variations in light and weather. This relationship with the lake’s surface transforms the sculpture into a device for environmental resonance: the work experiences the space as a field, not as a static object.

As in other works by Cavenago, the piece does not fulfil an explicit function nor does it invite practical use: its presence is a question. The form, seemingly simple and constructed, evokes a dual semantic register: conflict and defence, the weaponised object and its exorcism, the tension between perceived danger and contemplative reassurance.

Protecziun da la patria thus proposes a critical suspension: the mine, stripped of its lethal function, becomes a symbol of a neutral space that questions the practices of defence and protection – not as a military gesture, but as a form of preservation and resistance to violence. Cor-Ten steel, the sphere and water together form a sculpture that operates through contrasts and suspensions rather than resolutions, challenging the very meaning of ‘protection’ and ‘homeland’ in a world marked by conflict and migration.

L.B., 2022