MATER LACTEA

Mater Lactea is a hand-held sculpture that is shaped in wax.

Later it is reproduced 1:1 in wood or marble or enlarged to be part of the open space or reduced to become wearable.

One of its sides represents the breast with the nipple pierced; the other side represents the mother’s head, turned to the side of the heart, facing that of the child.

The mirrored Mater Lactea can also be reproduced, allowing it to be held with either the right or left hand.

Two halves of a unit are thus placed side by side: the mother’s chest and her two breasts.

By sliding the thumb in the hollow between the mother’s head and the baby’s one, we hold the sculpture, and by closing the nipple with the index finger, this becomes a shell/dipper to carry food or water to the mouth.

The breast is transformed into a tool to become the baby’s first contact with something that separates it from the breast itself, from the maternal, intimate touch and, while preserving its iconic memory, it initiates the baby into independent growth.