David Tremlett, an international artist with sixty years of research under his belt, has always been a tireless traveller, adopting a stance of great sensitivity and respect towards the surrounding environment, existing architecture and communities in the places he has visited and in which he has intervened. In his own words, his attitude over all these years was triggered by a reflection: “...how do you experience a space when you enter it? You breathe it...”
His artistic interventions have sometimes been made extemporaneously on ruins or disused areas encountered along his path, while at other times meticulously designed in the studio following invitations from communities or individuals. The sites of his permanent projects are often characterised by their specific social functions: hospitals, retirement homes, churches, penitentiaries, transit areas, associations dedicated to the care of the disabled, public squares and buildings dedicated to labour in various parts of the world. But it is above all with Italy that he has forged a close bond: since the 1980s with numerous exhibitions in galleries and, in the 1990s, the bond was further strengthened with the implementation of permanent works commissioned by both public and private bodies, for outdoor areas or inside pre-existing architecture.
After an inspection of the former Caffarri feed mill, Tremlett decided to work on the thirteen imposing metal silos and the adjoining external façade of the building to create a visible point of attraction in a place now devoted to education and the fostering of community, especially for young people.
The intervention was carried out with acrylic colours that blend with the adjoining space: the greens reflect the surrounding vegetation while the greys and browns recall the original materials: metal and brick. The shades of green chosen by the artist for the silos, along with the effect produced on their curved surfaces, create vibrations and chromatic variations that alter on the basis of the incidence of light at different times of day and the passing of the seasons.
The title he gave the project is emblematic: The Organ Pipes.
The permanent installation in the northern area and the exhibition in the town centre mutually reinforce Tremlett’s relationship with the city. The notion of the musical score, an element of inspiration for the permanent work The Organ Pipes, is further developed in the rooms of the exhibition Another Step, curated by Marina Dacci and organised in the monumental complex of the Chiostri di San Pietro.