Harper Bazaar Arabia | Italian Dubai-Based Artist Antonio Signorini Creates A Sculpture For Wishes

Antonio Signorini creates a monumental sculpture for the Tamanna non-profit organization in Beirut to support children with special needs

“I want this sculpture to serve as a place where children can come and make a wish,” says sculptor Antonio Signorini who resides between Dubai and Florence. The work, which is 150 centimetres in height and weighs 180kilos, is created in bronze using the lost wax technique by which a duplicate metal sculpture is cast from an original sculpture.

The finished product is a captivating four-legged creature that resembles a unicorn entirely painted in 24-carat gold leaf while the single horn on its head is derived from a real Buffalo. It also has two wings, an aspect that recalls mythological creatures of ancient Greece and Rome. “I took inspiration from Renaissance sculpture of a mythological creature,” says Signorini. “I tried to give the idea of happiness seen through the creature’s faint bow and subtle smile. I wanted to portray the link between ancient and modern sculpture.”