Faith & Fate

Faith & Fate, from the Pinocchio & Threads Series

Pinocchio, the character of Carlo Collodi, is part of the oldest memories of my childhood. Although I considered to personify the good Geppetto, who in his goodness as a father recognized in Pinocchio a being desperately seeking his own identity, who stumbles upon his weaknesses and who is in the eternal search for meaning of existence and loneliness in the face of the crossroads and obstacles of life, I opted to address the macabre side of the story from the perspective of one of Pinocchio's executioners.

The above is due to the fact that, although the original story has been overshadowed by the version that has become predominant —and which is also tragic, but less so— few know that Pinocchio's story has very dark moments, such as when he throws a hammer at the talking cricket leaving him dead, or when the scammers, the fox and the cat catch Pinocchio and decide to hang him in an oak tree.

Another reference is the work of the Italian painter Walther Jervolino (1944-2012), who produced more than one piece showing Pinocchio being beheaded or killed with arrows.

In this version, the red strings of the puppet give way to the red thread of fate from Chinese and Japanese mythology, in some way equivalent to what we know in the West as a soul mate: "an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstances. The thread can stretch or tangle, but never break."