Type: Three-dimensional Digital Sculpture
Medium: Virtual Reality
Artist: firas safieddine

Fragment of a Living Landscape presents a suspended specimen and interpretation of the ecosystem within the Calabrian territory, where geology, flora, and cultivation converge into a single, continuous system.

Rooted in the region's material and cultural identity, the piece brings together rock, olive branches, and a curated mix of Calabrian and Mediterranean flora, including citrus blossoms, broom, bergamot, wild herbs, and coastal species. From this mineral base, organic life emerges, unfolds, and transforms, with olive oil acting as a central, fluid agent that connects all elements.

Both natural and constructed, the sculpture operates as a precise assembly of interdependent parts, revealing the underlying logic of ecology, growth, and extraction that defines the landscape. It is beyond the representation of Calabria, but a condensation of its processes, where the soft continuously negotiates with the hard, and life persists through matter.


Synopsis
A suspended fragment or specimen of the Calabrian landscape, where rock, roots, flora, and oil coexist as a single living system. The piece captures the emergence of soft, organic matter from a hard, mineral substrate.
Concept & Logic
The sculpture explores the tension between hard and soft: stone as resistance, life as persistence, and emergence. Organic elements like roots, soft flora, and olives penetrate and occupy the rock. At the same time, oil acts as a mediator, linking all components into a continuous cycle of growth, extraction, and transformation.
Elements
Rock / Earth → geological base, representing Calabria’s rugged terrain
Roots → depth, time, anchoring
Olive branches & fruits → cultural and agricultural identity
Flora (Calabrian + Mediterranean mix) → includes citrus blossom, broom, bougainvillea, and extends to typical regional species such as bergamot flower, wild thyme, rosemary, oregano, cistus (rockrose), fennel, and dry grasses
Oil → liquid connector, extracted essence of the landscape
Assembly
Constructed as a balanced central mass with exploded emergent fragments, the piece follows a clear structural logic. Each component is positioned to maintain equilibrium while simulating organic growth, forming an engineered yet living system.