Ah, the feckless, sebaceous, inward-turned man; Bumbling through the world unaware and uncaring how his actions may impact the lives of others. Little does he know that the fire he starts will burn him as well.

Italian street artists Nemo’s and Nicola Alessandrini created this awful and gorgeous scene on a wall in San Martino in Pensilis. The significance of its physical placement is alluded to by the burned upper body of the figure, the grotesque through whom is popping finely plumed birds who perhaps have just lost their homes.

“We painted it next to a natural area deeply wounded by a fire that broke out only a few days earlier,” Nemo’s explains. “The image was born from our intimate need to share in that wound and as an ode to a nature that resists and exists despite everything.”

It’s a strong image, one that rises up from a mountain once covered with trees. “Like every summer, many wooded areas throughout Italy are on fire due to several causes: the reckless action of man, arson, the effects of global warming and drought,” the two say in a formal statement.

“Land burning because of neglect, because of brutal will, because of auto-da-fé, showing the remains and waste from a humanity that is wholly inadequate to care for the land. Among the stumps of burnt trees, birds return to fly – the only witness to nature’s untamed return to life.”

They call this piece “The Nest”

Video credit – Nicola Santoro

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