TIRANA, Oct. 15- A sculpture from renowned artist Helidon Xhixha titled ‘’Cosmic S’’ was installed at the Zogu i Zi roundabout, which has been under construction for a year now. The stainless steel sculpture consists of two irregular pyramids on top of each other linked through their peaks, seemingly asymmetric, yet balanced.
The sculpture seeks to represent the ever-changing flux of Tirana’s architecture, which besides building a metropolitan infrastructure, is also trying to create artistic and historical spaces that mirror the culture of Albania. That would imply the urbanisation of a European capital which doesn’t want to forget its identity and tries to express it in creative ways through the artists it bears, so it will become a favorite tourist attraction. So, architecture and urbanisation linked with art, all part to a bigger picture, which are grasped in the wider world.
The pyramid on top would then be the soul of humanity, its instinct. The peak is downwards as the dreams and positive values have the highest regard, are on the highest level, which then transpose themselves through a communication channel underneath in the nature. This sort of approach finds its motivating force from the human values, from the beliefs and customs, that allow sustenance and accurate means of communication with the rest of everything.
The other pyramid which is in the bottom and wends upwards, is the world as perceived and lived from the citizens, the people that use its services. It is a bigger pyramid as it exists independently due to the natural intercourse of human relationships and the complexity of them and the discussions that arise.
The sculpture is a gift from artist Helidon Xhixha, who worked on it for a period of three months. He is a renowned artist exhibiting his work worldwide and who has three other pieces near the presidency building, gifted in 2012.
Born in Durres in 1970, he finished the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana, and then moved to Italy where he built his career. In 1998 he studied at Kingston University in London for sculpting and photography. Most of his works are built with stainless steel and have abstract overtones. He has participated in the Venice Biennale with a piece called ‘‘Iceberg’’, and in the London Biennale he has also received an award. He has also gifted a giant stainless steel sculpture of a horse to Ferrari, as symbol for his love and fascination with the car.
The sculpture at Zogu i Zi was inaugurated on Monday, Oct. 15 by Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj and Minister of Culture Mirela Kumbaro. They thanked the artist for the generous gift, and said they hope this piece will turn into a new reference point for one of Tirana’s busiest areas.
