02. Bulles de pensées
THOUGHT BUBBLES
published at 09/03/2018
The garden’s concept is based on the etymology of the French word “pensée”, from the Latin noun pensum designating the weight of wool that had to be spun per day.
A ball of woollen yarn is unwound along a hedge of branches (a Benjes hedge) that takes a curvilinear path alongside a series of “tableaux vivants” (living scenes) evoking caged thoughts, prickly thoughts, crazy thoughts, shadowy and rebellious thoughts, distorted thoughts and sacred thoughts.
At the entrance to the garden, visitors are given a length of yarn, a symbol of thought, and invited to knot it along the hedge as they make their way through the garden.
By the end of the season, the hedge will be covered in lengths of yarn, like so many thoughts left behind by the garden’s visitors. The symbolic value of the act – the knotting of a length of yarn – refers back to the traditions of the Incas, who created “memory banks” by combining knots and colours of wool. It also refers to eastern traditions, in which adepts are encouraged to let go of their thoughts in the garden, in order to eliminate the ego and achieve illumination.
DESIGNERS
Giorgio BROCCARDO, graduate in mechanical engineering, Daniela DONISI, architect, illustrator and professional gardener, Alice GALBIATI, anthropologist and orthotherapist, Luca CAPROTTI, professional gardener, beekeeper and orthotherapist, and Paolo CASARIN, gardener and arborist
ITALY
Giorgio Broccardo - engineer, on the permanent staff of a technical design office (“Studio Tecnico Broccardo”) since 2001.
"Specialising in projects involving steel structures, greenhouses and other installations for horticulture, floriculture and nurseries. With the experience I’ve acquired in greenhouse cultivation and a network of professional partners to call upon, I’ve become an advisor to constructors (in Italy, France and Holland) and clients alike, with turnkey projects for greenhouses and other facilities.”
Paolo Casarin started out at university in 2008; in 2011 he joined forces with a group of his colleagues to design and create a garden for Euroflora (international exhibition of flowers and plants in Genoa). In 2012, he became the manager of a 10,000m2 apple orchard and later made up his mind to specialise in gardening. After attending a series of vocational courses and gaining experience in a landscaping company, he now works as a freelance gardener and arborist.
Alice Galbiati – anthropologist and orthotherapist.
“Using the kitchen garden as a tool, I’ve worked with children in schools and people with mental and social problems.”
Luca Caprotti – professional gardener, beekeeper and orthotherapist.
I work with children in the field of private environmental education, in educational gardens, as well as in the social sphere, with people suffering from psychophysical ailments.”
Daniela Donisi - architect, illustrator and professional gardener
“I’ve worked in the worlds of stage design and fashion. For the last ten years I’ve been involved in the design of green spaces, garden management and construction. I recently started teaching, taking specialised classes in freehand drawing and the history of roses and their use in design. I’m currently working on a theoretical and practical study of the traditional art of the Japanese garden (with guidance from Francesco Merlo, Sachimine Masui and Hiromi Hoshi at the Scuola Agraria del Parco di Monza)”.
