Gondwana Project

Gondwana: A New Beginning

In 1912, German meteorologist Alfred Wegener, one of the fathers of modern geology, proposed the concept of continental drift—a gradual and constant movement of the Earth’s continental masses relative to each other. The term “Pangaea,” meaning “all the earth” (from the Greek roots pan, all, and gea, earth), surrounded by a primordial ocean called Panthalassa, was coined by Wegener himself, who was the first to suggest the existence of the last supercontinent, formed 300 million years ago.

From Pangaea, the current continents emerge through fragmentation. Pangaea splits into two large supercontinental blocks: Laurasia to the north, and Gondwana to the south. Thus, the first commonly assumed meaning of the term Gondwana is that of a continental block that will give rise to the continents of the corresponding current southern hemisphere, while Laurasia will do so with those corresponding to the north. Some refer to the supercontinent Gondwana, but if they do so referring to Gondwana after Pangaea, the correct terminology is: Gondwana continental block. The other meaning corresponds to the supercontinent called Great Gondwana, synonymous with Pannotia, which existed before Pangaea and encompassed the entire land mass. The term was proposed by Stern in 1994. Gondwana, before Pangaea, would be the supercontinent (Pannotia), while if we refer to the later period, we would be talking about a continental block complementary to Laurasia.

Based on these facts, sculptor Daniel Papaleo proposes “Gondwana: A New Beginning.” An artistic project inspired by the symbolic union of all continents that aims to create a sense of interconnection among the different peoples of the world. The project aims to evolve over time into a kind of grand archive, preserving the cultural and artistic memory of the different peoples inhabiting the planet, consolidating on a conceptual, scientific, and experimental basis—with performative actions. Its goal is to make visible the interconnectedness and interdependence among the world’s peoples.

The starting point from the artistic and contemporary perspective is the set of sculptural pieces from the “Sonitus” series created by the artist. The works are inspired by the anatomy of the human inner ear, specifically the hair cells that convert sound waves into electrical signals, allowing the perception of sound and, in this specific case, capturing the sound of voice, music, and the sound landscape that permeates the sculpture—since, for Papaleo, each sculptural piece has its own sonic identity. In this act, the viewer ceases to be a passive observer, merely observing from a distance, to engage with the artwork. Thus, the sculpture serves as a vibrant abstraction that comes to life, generating a multisensory experience. Additionally, it functions as a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, inviting artists and scientists from diverse backgrounds to interact with the work and with each other, amplifying its scope and resonance.

This collaborative approach enriches both the base work and the mission of the Gondwana Project to build bridges of understanding and mutual appreciation through art. Presented as an artistic constellation, each participation and contribution adds a star to this creative universe, reinforcing the idea of an interconnected and dependent world.

Starting from the sculptures of the “Sonitus” series, Papaleo is in the stage of inviting artists, scientists, and the public to participate in the project, to engage in dialogue with “Sonitus,” thus interpreting the symbolic universe of the project, the artwork, and the artist.

With the desire for an increasingly united and collaborative society through synesthetic art, Papaleo retrieves the notion of Pangaea—the Unique Earth—creating cultural bridges that go beyond history. It is a wonderful realized utopia.

“Look at that point. That’s here. That’s our home. That’s us. In it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived their life.”

Carl Sagan

The astrophysicist and popularizer Carl Sagan titled one of his books as “A pale blue dot, a vision of the human future in space”, inspired by a photograph of the Earth taken in 1990 by the Voyager I space probe at a distance of 6 billion. of kilometers, which showed it as an almost imperceptible point of light, due to the glare of the sun.

While from our terrestrial vision, everything acquires a greater dimension, for Sagan, the Earth is instead a very small stage in the vast cosmic arena, where the sums of all our joys and sufferings live, thousands of religions, ideologies and doctrines, heroes and cowards in that speck of dust suspended in a ray of sun. Following his thinking, Papaleo underscores our responsibility to treat each other more kindly and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we have ever known.

In short, the Gondwana Project seeks not only to be an artistic exhibition, but a transformative experience that challenges perceptions, inspires collective consciousness and promotes the sustainability of human interactions through the beauty of art. It is an open invitation to join in a journey of discovery, appreciation and mutual understanding, reaffirming the power of art as a catalyst for change and unity in our globally interconnected society.