"CAGE no. 1"
2016 Alberto Favaro
Metal sculptures, wire net
Short Description
In Cage n.1, architecture is stripped down to its most essential gesture: the act of enclosing.
This work is part of a series of experiments aimed at questioning the very practice of architecture as an act of spatial domination and control—a fundamentally violent gesture, regardless of its form or outcome. Architecture always begins by establishing boundaries, both physical and intangible, such as normative and social limits.
At its core, architecture assigns meaning to space, transforming it into place, while excluding other possible uses and interpretations.
The cages themselves explore spatial restriction and hierarchization without assigning any particular function or meaning. They stand as exercises in self-containment and self-reference, revealing the inherent violence in architecture’s drive to limit and control space.
Through their paradoxical and often impractical forms, these sculptures highlight how boundaries exclude alternative uses and meanings, underscoring architecture’s underlying force of exclusion and control.
Work displayed at Alberto Favaro's solo exhibition -PROTECT ME- at Muza (National Museum of Art), Valletta 2025.