Thunder Makers 1969

Simone Forti's Thunder Makers presents a stark contrast between the industrial and the elemental. Here, weathered metal hangs suspended from a rough-hewn beam, invoking a sense of raw, untamed power. This brings to mind ancient rituals where metal was forged not just for utility, but as a conduit to the divine. Think of the blacksmith gods of antiquity, like Hephaestus, whose hammer strikes echoed the thunder of Zeus himself. The very act of shaping metal was seen as a way to harness natural forces, to command the elements. Consider the Jungian idea of the collective unconscious, where archetypes reside. The image of the blacksmith, the metal, and the thunder, tap into our primal understanding of transformation and energy. These are symbols that resonate deep within our subconscious, representing the potential for both creation and destruction. Ultimately, Thunder Makers embodies the cyclical nature of these symbols. Simone Forti’s work reveals how symbols can be resurrected, re-interpreted, and re-contextualized, to forge new insights into the enduring human condition.