Friedhof Berlin by Ivan Prieto

I thought I’d share the sculpture work of artist Ivan Prieto and his collaborative installation project with photographer Ornella Orlandini which takes place in Berlin cemeteries. At first I was unsure about using a cemetery as part of an art project but the more I looked at it the more I was won over by the idea: the unsettling nature of using a cemetery is part of why the project is so effective and haunting. The sculptural nature of the tombs with their alcoves and niches makes the perfect place to complement and offset Ivan’s eerie sculptures. The whole effect reminds me of an artists’ garden or concrete poetry where different sculptural elements play off each other. Ivan’s sculptures and the tombs create a kind of weird visual dialogue between old tombs with their carvings and lead lettering and new, beautiful, but creepy figures some of which look like they are praying or contemplating and startle the viewer like mischievous spirits. I think the overall effect is wonderful, thought provoking and edgy and that Ornella Orlandini’s striking photographs really make the whole thing come alive (excuse the pun).