alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites

laser-etched patterns allow visitors to engage with moments of the artist's journey, which he has been documenting for the last 20 years.

Alberto Frigo edited by thomai tsimpou August 29, 2024 3 min

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Alberto Frigo Cana creates a sculpture with moments of his life

Alberto Frigo Cana presents CUBO, an iron sculpture in the Little Dolomites, composed of 15,552 welded iron pixels. Serving as a physical representation of the artist’s life, this monumental 7.6-meter (25-foot) structure stands 1,000 meters above sea level, approximately 100 kilometers from Venice, Italy. The pixels shape the sculpture’s exterior texture, while its interior is lined with anodized aluminum tags, each laser-etched with unique patterns. These patterns allow visitors to engage with fragments of Frigo’s personal journey, which he has been documenting for the last 20 years.

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 1 — all images courtesy of Alberto Frigo Cana

CUBO showcases various elements of the artist’s journey

Incorporating various elements of his life experiences into the sculpture, Alberto Frigo Cana has been working on CUBO since 2016. Transcending a mere time capsule, the project offers multiple recordings of time through diverse mediums. Inside CUBO, one finds 1,000,000 photos of objects the Italian artist has used, 432,000 records of his dreams, 38,880 drawings of his ideas, 25,920 videos from places he has visited, 10,368 renderings of cloud shapes he has observed, and 3,456 portraits of people he has encountered. The compilation of these records within CUBO creates a contemporary Rosetta Stone. Visitors are invited to interpret and interact with these snapshots of Frigo’s life, uncovering layers of meaning within the artist’s extensive documentation. CUBO is open for visits by appointment, which can be arranged through the project’s official website.

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 2 — Alberto Frigo Cana presents CUBO, an iron sculpture in the Little Dolomites

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 3 — these patterns allow visitors to engage with fragments of Frigo’s personal journey

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 4 — transcending a mere time capsule, the project offers multiple recordings of time

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 5 — inside CUBO, one finds 1,000,000 photos of objects the Italian artist has used

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 6 — the compilation of these records within CUBO creates a contemporary Rosetta Stone

alberto-frigo-fragments-life-iron-pixels-cubic-sculpture-designboom-1800-01 — the project offers multiple recordings of time through diverse mediums

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 7 — visitors are invited to interpret and interact with these snapshots of Frigo’s life

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 8 — anodized aluminum tags line the interior, each laser-etched with unique patterns

alberto-frigo-fragments-life-iron-pixels-cubic-sculpture-designboom-1800-02 — this monumental 7.6-meter structure stands 1,000 meters above sea level

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 9 — 15,552 pixels shape the sculpture’s exterior texture

alberto frigo cana encodes his life as iron pixels with cubic sculpture in the little dolomites - 10 — Alberto Frigo Cana has been working on CUBO since 2016

project info:

name: CUBO
designer: Alberto Frigo Cana | @a.fri.cana
location: Little Dolomites, Venice, Italy

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.