U ficu (The fig) print - 2022 edition

2022 limited edition print from the 2016 Wealth of the Land exhibition.

Created from the streets of La Vucciria market in Palermo 2014-2016, these prints celebrate the fruit and vegetables of the streets. The markets, established by Arabs more than 1200 years ago sell seasonal, mostly regionally grown in Sicily.

Each of the images in the show were hand drawn digital images, based on a series of photographs taken from different angles and light sources. They each took from 40-60 hours to make.

The work in Wealth of the Land was exhibited in Palermo, Darwin, Melbourne and Sydney

Limited edition print of 19
30cm x 30cm / 45cm x 45cm
Digital print on Ilford paper
Unframed

A pdf of the Wealth of the Land catalogue will be emailed to you on purchase.

The fig
At each corner of the Benedictine cloister attached to the cathedral of Monreale, a town that sits above the conca d’oro of Palermo, sit four plantings of the most important Biblical fruits: pomegranate, dates, olives and figs. When in season, the markets are full of figs, one of the most ancient fruits to be cultivated in the middle east and brought to Sicily from ancient times. The fig is possibly the first example of deliberate agriculture, with evidence of plantings dating back to 9400–9200 BC in the Jordan Valley. The word in English and Italian comes from the Latin.

U ficu
A llatu ri bbinirittini a Murriali, vicinu ‘mPalermu, ci sunnu i chiantaçiuni ri quattru frutta chiù ‘mpurtanti ra Bbibbia: granatu, ràttuli, alivi, e ficu. Quannu arriva u so’ tempu, i
mircati sù chini ri ficu. Chistu, forsi, fu u primu arbulu a essiri curtivatu, si trovanu provi ca pari ca già cchiùssai ri novi mila anni prima ca nascissi u Nostru Signuri si canusceva. Tantu a parola ‘ngrisi ca ‘taliana, veni ru latinu anticu.

Il fico
In ogni angolo del monastero benedettino attaccato alla cattedrale di Monreale, una città sita a nord della conca d’oro di Palermo, ci sono quattro piantagioni dei frutti più importanti della Bibbia: melagrana, datteri, olive e fichi. Quando arriva la stagione, i mercati sono pieni di fichi, uno dei frutti più antichi coltivati in Medio Oriente e portati in Sicilia dai tempi antichi. Il fico è probabilmente il primo esemplare di coltura volontaria, con prove di tali colture risalenti a prima del 9400–9200 avanti Cristo nella valle della Giordania. La parola, in inglese e in italiano, deriva dal latino.