”Fiori diversi al naturale” is a site-specific artwork by artist Agostino Iacurci, the winner of the 22nd edition of Premio Ermanno Casoli, curated by Marcello Smarrelli, in the headquarters of Airforce, a company belonging to the Elica group, in Cerreto d’Esi (AN).

The artwork was accomplished through a series of actions that actively involved the entire company population – around 100 people with heterogeneous professional profiles, without any organisational distinction – transforming a large portion of the plant, previously only used as a transit area, into a place to stop and meet.

The title of the work, Fiori diversi al naturale (meaning ‘different flowers in the wild’), is a nod to Francesco Mingucci (1570-1642), a painter and cartographer from Pesaro renowned for portraying the Marche region in the 17th century. A forerunner in the study of nature and its correlation with culture, Mingucci depicted the local landscape by highlighting the interaction and continuity between urban and natural elements, as well as between architecture and rock formations.

Landscape and architecture are also central themes in Iacurci’s research. In his artistic practice, he uses painting, sculpture, drawing, light and sound, heterogeneously combining various media to create immersive installations engaged in an intimate dialogue with places. The result is visionary spaces in which stories, personal memories, literary references and vernacular tales freely converge. His large-scale works, which have decreed his international success, take the form of expanded painting interventions, an original reinterpretation of the so-called ‘Architettura parlante’ (meaning ‘speaking architecture’).

During the workshop, theoretical and practical sessions followed one another, as introduced by a conversation between Agostino Iacurci and Marcello Smarrelli on the themes of the project. The lecture by design historian and curator Domitilla Dardi, who related the stories of scientific and fantastic herbariums created by botanists and artists through the ages, was very inspiring. Based on the suggestions received, combined with their own imagination and experiences, each participant drew a picture of a flower, contributing to the creation of a herbarium conceived by the artist as a collective portrait of the company’s population. Like a frieze, the herbarium runs along the walls housing a large wall painting, painted by employee groups, depicting the flowers in this garden. The installation is completed by sculptural elements – the planters with their seats – designed by the artist with the contribution of STARTT – an architecture and land transformation studio.

The garden created in the new Airforce plant becomes a tangible symbol of their common commitment and their desire to take root and grow together as a cohesive and collaborative community.