Conceived by the artist Sandra Tomboloni, the orphan project focuses on the concepts of abandonment, diversity, marginality, and waste within our society.
Contrary to what is commonly thought, Sandra’s orphan is a precious, unique being from whom to learn, and is, therefore, worthy of care and attention, to the point of being elevated to the rank of art.
As in the previous Homeless project from 2014, in the town of Pontassieve, the artist has allied herself with different worlds (in this case, the Vannucci contemporary art gallery in Pistoia and the Manusa Cooperative) with a desire to develop local skills and creativity in line with a decisively social artistic vision.
For the first time, the artist made textile works, following her earlier work with pongo and ceramics.
For this reason, she availed herself of the skills of Manusa, a social rehabilitation cooperative that works in the field of salvaging and recycling used or old clothes, thanks to the creativity and high-level craftsmanship of the people working there.
In addition to providing exhibition space, Galleria Vannucci coordinated the project and oversaw the entire artistic set-up. Consequently, the works created by the artist, supported by Manusa’s labor, can enter a gallery’s commercial market for exhibition and sale.
The artist’s desire to dignify the people who worked to create the project with her was expressed through the pursuit of a transparent selling price that highlights the artist’s compensation, the gallery’s fee, and the cooperative’s costs.