NOWs: My boy, with such boots we may hope to travel far by Alvaro Urbano

NOWs:

In several locations in Tirolo and on the Tiroler Steig reaching Merano, Alvaro Urbano has placed a series of 15 concrete sculptures in the shape of the rune symbols of the cryptogram of Jules Verne’s famous book Journey to the Center of the Earth. During the spring of 1863, Professor Otto Lidenbrock, the main character of the novel – who believes in the existence of volcanic tubes that connect to the centre of the Earth – discovers a mysterious manuscript entirely written in runic alphabet, which offers an important key to unveil the path to the centre of the Earth. Considering how important the runes are as a pre-historical relict in the area of Tirolo, an interesting interchange between fiction and reality emerges. The sculptures are scattered along the path that leads from Merano to Tirolo, and in different locations of the village, as the main park and the market square. Visitors and passers-by will discover the sculptures while walking, becoming, almost by chance, the characters of Jules Verne’s famous novel. The sculptures are made in concrete and other local stone material. Moss will slowly grow on them.

The sculptures can be discovered as part of the second edition of Art & Nature titled Walking with Senses held between March 24 and June 5, 2016 in Merano and the surrounding villages Naturno, Scena and Tirolo, curated by the team of BAU.

Alvaro Urbano

My Boy, with Such Boots we may Hope to Travel Far, 2016
Concrete, metal, local minerals and vegetation.
Variable dimensions.
Art & Nature 2016.
Permanent public sculpture. Merano – Dorf Tyrol

Photos by Daniel Mazza and Alvaro Urbano