"I never imagined, not even in my wildest dreams, that they would come to a place like this. I'm very happy to be here with them," says artist Karen Cusolito on her most recent visit to her work, in 2022, at Pedra do Tatu, where her Big Family, known simply as the Statues, "live". This record can be seen in "My Big Family - Revisited", an 18-minute mini doc available on Ibiti Projeto's YouTube channel.
Crossing oceans
Between Karen's speeches, the film, directed by Mauro Pianta, also shows how the Statues made their way from California (USA) to Ibitipoca (MG) in 2014. The images were taken by Felipe Scaldini, director of another film, "Migration"which documents this journey in detail, is also available on Ibiti Projeto's YouTube channel.
Transportation from the Pacific to the Atlantic was no easy task, as Renato Machado recalls. Founder of Ibiti, he found out about the work when he was passing a shed: "I had suggested cutting the sculptures and then casting them here, with a specialized and trustworthy team. But then Karen said to me: 'Renato, you're not going to cut up my children, are you?' And she herself helped to make some 'beds' to lay the statues on, which came on the ship in one piece. To get them up to the top of the mountain, we had to open a road for the tractor to pull up with the crane, and then close it and plant them on top."
A destination
Karen made a point of getting to know the place where the Big Family would be moving. "I wanted it to be a destination, not an obvious place like next to the Pousada do Engenho. So I suggested three places, hoping for this one, which she also liked. Then she made three layouts and asked me to choose one, and again we agreed," says Renato.
For him, the work took on a new meaning when it came to Minas. "It's an artwork that's very much in line with our project, because it's recycling, it's garbage that has been transformed into something better, a 'regeneration'. And it's certainly art made with steel that left Minas Gerais, had its use on the planet and came back here, because our state is a major supplier of ore to the world."
Translated feeling
It took Karen Cusolito around three years to complete the work and she presented it in 2007 at the Burning Man Festival in the United States. At the center of it was an oil derrick, representing the god of today. "The intention was to show our ambition for oil and how this impacts on the economy and environment of almost every culture around the world."
Karen made art installations in Boston until she moved to San Francisco, California (CA) in 1996. There, she runs American Steel Studios, a huge warehouse in the suburb of Oakland, where more than 200 artists and creative entrepreneurs work. It was there that, over the course of a few years, she created the set of sculptures.
About the strong presence of the human body in her sculptures, the artist comments: "The human form is a rich arena in which to explore and express emotion, intention and challenge". Most of her work focuses on humanity and the environment and "the delicate balance between the two".
Learn about the meaning of each sculpture
ACHMED
It represents the Muslim part of the world. Connects to the Earth with humility and devotion
MUMBATU
Slender and strong, it harks back to African traditions. When sowing, it suggests the partnership between human beings and nature
ECSTASY
She seems to be on the move and, according to Karen, is "something of a hippie, a sun worshipper, in joy with nature"
EPIPHANY
In a moment of enlightenment, she represents clarity, joy and the appreciation of life
PASSAGE
It shows creativity and tradition being passed down from one generation to the next: mother and child go hand in hand
HUMBLE GEORGE
The knight, in a posture of acceptance, calmly reflects the Christian faith
