“Pope Francis Applauds Fr Sidival Fira’s Artistic Mission of Reuse and Salvation”

(Vatican News Network)The Pontifical Library of the Vatican opened an exhibition reflecting on the “culture of discarding” on April 28. Reuse and rescue. Pope Francis issued a speech for this, saying that the phenomenon of discarding is one of the most serious problems of our time. “Reversus” is a Latin word that means “reversal” or “reverse”. The title of the exhibition “(Re)versus” implies that the works try to subvert or change the culture of discarding.

Creativity, Poetry and Irony
Pope Francis believes that art can also have an educational role, and it can make people realize that resources should not be wasted under the logic of one-time use and disposal. This is a “beautiful surprise”. In addition to theological and pastoral inquiries, even aesthetic approaches, especially bookstore-librarianship, can help to raise awareness, the Pope said. The fundamental problem with contemporary society is its “tendency to exclude everything that does not meet the criteria of efficiency, productivity, responsiveness, beauty, youth, strength, and vigor.”

“In fact, by ‘chemically reacting’ the heritage of the Vatican Pontifical Library with the work of the Brazilian artist Franciscan priest Sidival Fira, two paths converge in a highly creative way,” said the Pope. Powerful and poetic, and with positive irony, overcomes ‘throwaway culture’.”

The value of “rescue”
This exhibition is an example of the intersection of two perspectives: on the one hand the concept of “rescue” that Father Fira achieves by collecting textiles, embroidery, silk fragments to recycle waste, giving them new life, neither reconstructing their origin , nor by giving them new functions, but by displaying them in a neutral context so that they independently receive dignity and attention, perhaps more than ever before. On the other hand is the idea of ​​”reuse”. The curators have unearthed all kinds of interesting cases in the collections of the Vatican Pontifical Library: artistic reuse, restoration, decoration, and even “deceptive” reuse. Utilization, both have allowed fragments of our past to survive into our own time.

From discard culture to harmonious culture
Recalling his visit to the Apostolic Library a few years ago, Pope Francis spoke of “the outlets that only art and scholarship can provide, outlets that come from the acceptance of inspiration and the exercise of memory”. Finally, he invited everyone to embark on this artistic journey: “This exhibition has no religious purpose, but follows the standards of scientific research and artistic work, aiming to provide thinking elements for everyone, from ‘discarding culture’ to ‘harmonious culture’ ‘。”

Link URL: www.vaticannews.cn