Janus Lab Italy
The Fisherman
The Fisherman
Traces on the sand of a fisherman face
The face seeks to embody the silent visage of a fisherman—its impression left upon the sand like a fleeting memory. The lines are roughened by time, worn smooth by the tide of years. It bears a primordial air, as though one were gazing upon an ancestor emerging from the depths of the past.
Dark shadows drift across the features, veiling one side more than the other and awakening the textures of weathered skin. His eyes possess a quiet depth, refracting light from different angles and evoking a sense of layered being—of time sedimented within form.
The mixed technique combines firescale, copper oxidation, and a washed black enamel, enhancing the gold-like luster of the copper beneath. Subtle traces of silver leaf sink into the eyes, as if memory itself had settled there, gleaming faintly beneath the surface.
Â
Enamel - Le Grand Feu
“Smalti a Fuoco_ Un’arte di Sottecchio”
The art of fire enameling is an ancient and highly complex craft.
Rooted in precise gestures and knowledge acquired over time, it has, through the centuries, transformed simple metals—such as copper or silver—into objects of great value and artistic significance.
Today, it is largely confined to a few specialized creations and is often mistaken for industrially produced items or those made with polymer-based enamels. As a result, it remains mostly associated with traditionally styled aesthetic prototypes.
Only in rare cases has it broken free from classical aesthetics, giving rise to modern works crafted using ancient techniques—thanks to great, though now nearly forgotten, artisans.
These are the foundations of our own deeply personal journey: not only a rediscovery of enamel’s potential, but also a search for a new, contemporary language—one that reimagines how fire enameling can still express beauty and sophistication today.
The Origin of ...
Stories of ancient civilizations lost to time—where traces begin to resurface through climate change and environmental degradation. Both in icy regions and equatorial rainforests, new signs of past civilizations emerge.
Starting from those same carved stones—faces sculpted by ancient hands—I began to wonder about human expression: how to represent it, how to give it form. I started experimenting with shaping expressions -mimicking ancient relics- on copper, sculpting the metal and recreating those same lines. The hammer transforms the material in two ways: on one side it expands and deforms the surface; on the other, it leaves marks rich with texture.
It became inevitable for me to begin sculpting real faces, seeking to capture their emotions—their wonder, sadness, and joy. I am fascinated by how ancient civilizations, and more broadly by how cultures, have sought to depict their people—their identity, their symbolism, their spirit. That is the path this project follows.