Breath: Valencian Art for Italian Mountains

Escif is an artist from Valencia who started painting graffiti in 1996. Through murals, public interventions, video, installations and drawings, Escif experiments life as an open process of knowledge and knowledge as an open process to experience life.

Escif uses art as an excuse to approach different concepts: environmental issues, economic strategies, social movements, capitalism, politics, macropolitics and micropolitics, street life, food-related issues.

Over the years, he has developed his own personal symbolism, constantly exploring new languages. His minimalist works convey a clear and direct message, encouraging viewers to become aware of what is happening around them instead of enjoying them on a purely aesthetic level.

We consume more water, air, flora and wildlife than the ecosystem is able to regenerate, and in 2016 Earth Overshoot Day, the date on which mankind consumes its budget of natural resources for the entire year, fell on August 8th, according to data from the Global Footprint Network.

The consequences are disastrous and there for all to see: climate changes, deforestation, hydrogeological instability, biodiversity loss.

Escif believes that the universal language of the arts can revitalize environmental issues, engage people and enhance awareness.

Breath will plant trees to fight deforestation. It will modify the environment and improve air quality by keeping the climate under control, reducing the risk of hydro-geological instability.

Mount Olivella is a 1,025 metre high mountain rising above the Gulf of Sapri, in Southern Italy.

It was partly deforested in the 1700s, with serious consequences, such as the hydro-geological instability which still causes floods in the surrounding areas.

Breath will revive Mount Olivella, bringing balance and protecting the environment. Each new tree will be a new breath for the mountain.

Breath is a huge organic drawing made of 5,000 new trees planted on Mount Olivella.

It is the result of a two-year long feasibility study which will cover a surface of 120,000 square metres, being visible from tens of kilometres away, from the sea and the surrounding towns.

Breath depicts a battery which portrays the energy cycle.

It follows the rhythms of time and Earth, always renewing and regenerating itself and never staying the same.

Breath is absorbed by seasonal cycles and expresses them through the changing colours and the presence or absence of leaves.

2,500 Holm Oaks will form the external structure of the artwork which will be clearly visible throughout the year. An evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region, it is climate resilient.

There will also be 2,500 Maples: a deciduous tree with dense and globular foliage.

It will form the internal structure of the artwork which will change shape and colour according to the seasons: light green during the spring, bright green in the summer, red during the autumn and bare in the winter.