Thirty different hearts, beating in harmony, are at the centre of 'Apparato Circolatorio' (Circulatory System), a masterpiece by Jago exhibited at the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.
And the artist spoke about his artwork at an event held at the auditorium which was also attended by Lower House Deputy Speaker Giorgio Mulè, as well as by the Commissioner General for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka, Mario Vattani.
Created in 2017, the oeuvre is the result of research uniting art and technology to give shape to the invisible.
Jago created a heart in clay, digitized its movement turning it into a three-dimensional animation from which he obtained thirty frames.
Each frame has become a different heart in enamelled ceramic, with all the hearts forming a complete cardiac cycle.
Set in a circle, the thirty sculptures create a visual and symbolic loop with a video completing the installation.
During the event, moderated by the culture chief of the Italy Pavilion, Rossella Menegazzo, the oeuvre, its meaning and the importance of art and culture within the universal exhibition were debated.
"We are de facto closing Italian Week, an exceptional week that also included our National Day, and it is incredible to have Jago here with us", stressed Vattani.
The Commissioner General recalled how "this Expo speaks about the society of the future, and in a world in which the digital and artificial intelligence are the most discussed tools, the only thing that sets apart, that makes a difference, is the authenticity of invention and this can only exist within a cultural context".
For this reason, added the Commissioner, the "success of this pavilion is a victory of culture, but not of Italian culture but culture in general, with all those visitors who wait to enter for five-six hours and experience real artwork and leave this place with a different idea".
The concept was also stressed by the Lower House Speaker Giorgio Mulè.
"Culture was made at this Pavilion, a culture outlined in all its forms" because "genius lies in manual skill and genius finds in manual skill its most splendid form".
Jago, recalled Mulè, "follows in natural continuity what comes from the past" and has a connection with the House which has been hosting, "since June 26 this year, one of his installations that has been a global success, 'Look Down'".- The oeuvre "has an enormous, extraordinary meaning, internal and external, it is this huge child that urges all of us to look and question what is still able today to stir our consciences amid indifference", he noted.
The artwork, "along with the one exhibited at the Italy Pavilion", tells us to "give someone attention" and shows "art's ability to provide very political messages" that go "beyond culture".
Each of the 30 hearts exhibited at Expo "makes us question through these famous beats" why "the heart beats until it has nourishment and the ability to produce life - so if art regenerates life, it is life that regenerates art with its ability to act as a driving force that is able to move us and to make us think" Jago stressed that he feels "like a parent who finds his child again on the other side of the world, all grown up, and understands that it was a good thing to let him go because, in this case, he is in communication with absolute masterpieces within a context that is actually a treasure chest".
"The only advice I gave him as a parent was to surround himself with better people than he is and he followed" the advice, said the artist of his creature.
"I remember the initial project, which had a deep effect on me, and now, after several months, being in its midst is even better.
"Usually, the presentation is better than the final effect - here it is the exact opposite", he noted.
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