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In the hands of Luca Gnizio, waste comes to life, until it becomes something to be patented. His creativity will be on show at the Dubai Expo, where Luca, 40, with a diploma in art and a degree in industrial design, was selected by the General Commission of the Italian Government as one of the ten Italian excellences accompanied by CNA. The initiative was made possible thanks to the support of the ICE Agency and the projects created within the ICE MPMI Working Group. Luca Gnizio, originally from Lodi and registered with CNA Crema, is the protagonist of CNA Storie di novembre. For over ten years he has been transforming waste into ecological and social opportunities, according to the principle of the three “Rs”: reduce, reuse, recycle.
His work will be presented on 16 March 2022 in the Italian Pavilion in the city the name of which, Dubai, means “connection” in Arabic. Hence, the theme chosen for the Expo: “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. “What better connection than waste?” asks Luca. “Waste links residuality to functionality, ecology to art, climate change to Italian style.”
Luca creates and is not satisfied with merely restoring life to waste. “With BMW and SGL Carbon Group I patented two ecological materials: FORSOUL, a proper fabric, obtained from carbon fibre,” he explains. “It’s set in crystal and is now on permanent display at the Murano Glass Museum. Also from the recycling of carbon, FORBLACKLIGHT was born: this is the first water-repellent fabric that becomes transparent. Thanks to this patent I won the prestigious award for the “excellences of Lombardy 2019.” And so, in 2019, Luca is selected to take part in the Adi Design Index.
He defines himself as an eco-social artist, the expression of an innovative strand: the art of production waste from companies and its fascinating journey from residue to design products. The subject of study and ongoing innovative research.
In the long career of this eco-social artist, he has encountered many giants of the world of industry and culture. As with the project with Levi’s, which involved 300 shops and associations of disabled children, prisoners and the unemployed. “We transformed used jeans into new design products and fabrics for tailoring courses,” recalls Luca. And then there was the exhibition at the Vittoriale Museum: from May 2018 Luca has been present with DannunziEco: l’impuro dannunziano. “I created this provocative work by recycling scraps of dirty, impure paper obtained from the restoration of the historic walls of the Vittoriale itself.”
In his hands, waste becomes a precious material. A message of rebirth, an invitation to restart, which passes through beauty. Even the most hidden beauty.
A cura di Paola Toscani
