Un milione di posti di lavoro, 1994

Un milione di posti di lavoro (1994) is an emblematic work of his conceptual sculptural practice, which interweaves social irony, political criticism and a reflection on the functional role of art in public space. Made of stainless steel, with an irrigation system integrated into a mountain bike, the installation was first exhibited at the Istituto Pini in Milan, a former psychiatric hospital with a large park in Affori (Milan), in a context that amplified its dialogue with the natural and social environment. The work consists of a mountain bike fixed to a central axle, connected to an irrigation mechanism: by pedalling in a circle - a repetitive and tiring gesture, evocative of the work imposed on animals in mills or ancient pumps - the user activates the system, distributing water over a small area of surrounding land to encourage 'intensive micro-cultivation'. Visually, it appears as a hybrid device between agricultural machine and playful sculpture, with pipes and nozzles branching off from the bike, creating a closed cycle of movement and nourishment of the soil.

The work was born at a precise moment in history: the Italian elections of 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi, leader of Forza Italia and a controversial figure in Italian politics, launched his campaign with the electoral promise to create 'one million jobs', an ambitious and populist slogan that symbolised the media tycoon's 'descent into the field' to revitalise the country's economy. Berlusconi, in power as Prime Minister from May 1994 to January 1995, presented this promise as a concrete plan to combat unemployment and stimulate growth, but it was often criticised as empty rhetoric, lacking feasible details and rooted in a neo-liberal outlook that favoured big business and deregulation. Cavenago, with his sensitivity for irony and conceptual destabilisation, intercepts this political discourse and subverts it: the work is not a mere parody, but an alternative 'solution', absurd yet tangible, that redirects the promise towards a return to Italy's agricultural roots.

In this sense, Un milione di posti di lavoro serves as a satirical critique of the failure of abstract political narratives. Instead of industrial or tertiary jobs - often ephemeral and tied to unstable economic cycles - Cavenago proposes a model of 'micro' and sustainable employment: anyone can 'work' by pedalling to irrigate a small plot, creating value through a manual, ecological and autonomous activity. It is an invitation to rethink work not as an electoral statistic, but as a concrete act of caring for the land, echoing themes of rural self-sufficiency in an era of globalisation and environmental crisis. The cyclical aspect of cycling symbolises the futility of certain political promises, a perpetual motion that produces minimal results, while irrigation evokes fertility and regeneration, as opposed to the sterility of empty slogans.

Developing the concept further, Cavenago's work can be read as a utopian-dystopian proposal for a contemporary 'return to agriculture'. In a post-industrial Italy, marked by youth unemployment and rural depopulation, the installation imagines a small-scale economy, where simple technology (the bicycle and irrigation) democratises food production. This 'micro-intensive farming' anticipates central themes today, such as urban agriculture, DIY hydroponics and climate change resilient communities. Pedalling to irrigate is not just physical exertion, but a performative act involving the spectator: the work invites the public to interact, transforming art from a passive object into an active tool, in line with Cavenago's philosophy of creating `devices` that destabilise space and its meaning.

On a social level, the work comments on the alienation of modern work: pedalling in a circle recalls the alienating routine of assembly lines or precarious jobs, but reconnects it to a real output (water that nourishes the earth), suggesting that a real `million jobs` could emerge from decentralised and ecological models, rather than from grand state plans. It is a critique of Berlusconi's consumer capitalism, which privileges quick profit, proposing instead an ethic of 'doing with your hands', a return to Italy's peasant origins, where agriculture is not backwardness, but sustainability and community. In this, Cavenago aligns art with the ecological debate: irrigation symbolises the need to 'feed' society from below, counteracting the metaphorical desertification caused by failed policies.

Moreover, the work reflects on the evolution of contemporary sculpture: Cavenago, influenced by his architectural training, criticises traditional outdoor installations as `artificial` and disconnected from the landscape, proposing instead humble and functional works that recover a `deeper role` for art. Exhibited in a nursing home park, it emphasises themes of healing and regeneration, extending the agricultural metaphor to a sick society in need of `irrigation`, a collective nourishment against political aridity.

Un milione di posti di lavoro by Umberto Cavenago transcends political satire, going beyond criticism of the populist rhetoric of the 1990s to weave economics, labour and art into a profound connection with the materiality of the earth. The work - a bicycle that, by pedalling, activates an irrigation system for a micro-crop - is configured as a conceptual device that sabotages capitalism's idea of infinite progress with an archaic and ritual gesture. The steel of the bike and the water that nourishes the soil do not celebrate industry, but bend it to an agrarian utopia, where manual labour regains meaning against modern alienation. In an era of green economy and ecological transition, the work appears prophetic, suggesting that authentic solutions arise from simple and ironic acts, as opposed to the lofty promises of power.