ReMask Project: Alchemy of Perception and the Pan Archetype
Faced with the rediscovered limits of our mental categories and the constraints of reductionism, we are increasingly aware of the need to reconnect with our original self. This return allows us to rediscover the benefits of instinct and imagination, bypassing ideological mediation. In this light, myths serve as conduits—universal symbols that help us navigate our inner conflicts and pursue happiness.
Emerging from this perspective is the symbolic power of the god Pan, who enables the unconscious to become conscious within the self. However, to achieve this, we must reactivate a mode of perception and experience of images that history has relentlessly attempted to suppress.
With this awareness, Enrico Girotti draws inspiration from Alejandro Jodorowsky’s panic theory, transforming his artistic practice into a kind of psychomagical act. He redefines the semantic significance of the surgical mask—one of the most unfortunate objects of recent years—by reshaping its perception. Through new configurations, innovative materials, unique forms, and a reimagined function, he transcends its original meaning.
Evoking alchemical tradition, Girotti sculpts each mask by hand, enveloping it in a new skin before transmuting it through an electrochemical process into metal, and ultimately, into incorruptible gold. This transformation—both in function and physical properties such as solidity, brilliance, hardness, and resilience—aligns with what some call solar value, an archetypal connection to gold. Through this process, the Artifex Enrico Girotti envisions a new reality, where the creative act holds more significance than mere material quality and where uniqueness prevails over mass production.
His surrealist-inspired sculptures are distinguished by an instinctive and original sculptural language that, in its very nature, invites multiple interpretations. These works transcend time, evoking a fascination that resonates with the panic vision they embody.
Finally, the title ReMask Project suggests a parallel with the myth of King Midas, alluding to the necessity for each of us to cultivate an inner state of grace—one capable of transforming our consciousness into gold, into joy. This metamorphosis, however, requires a conscious and constructive choice: deciding what, within us, must be transmuted.
Federica Viola