Energy Free Tree

The tree, more than eight meters high and four meters wide, is made entirely from waste materials, such as exhaust pipes, doors and bonnets from cars and vehicles destined for scrapping. Reusing waste materials, instead of discarding used materials: with his work Pettena implements a reversal. If the classic Christmas trees, once the holidays are over, end up in a collection centre, it is precisely by drawing on a disposal center that Pettena builds his tree.

In this sense, as the title states, the tree is energy free, that is, created without the use of new energy. This reflects the ecological approach of the artist, who did not use additional energy for its construction, but exploited that already produced to create the various parts of the cars that compose it. In his ecological approach, Pettena refers to the reflections of the American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), whom he knew personally, and to the debate of the 1950s from which contemporary environmentalism was born.

“With Energy Free Tree, waste elements come back to life to celebrate that period of the year which even in the pagan world is considered to be one of rebirth. In order to be able to be used, the exhaust pipes were subjected to a particular cleaning process - in this sense, the realization of the work was possible thanks to the support of the Santini Spa group and the collaboration with the Bolzano Tourist Board, which we are very happy about” - says Letizia Ragaglia, director of Museion.