The End of the Affair
The comparatively sleepy Vulcano last let
rip in 1890, yet the Fossa crater on its north
eastern edge still belches enough smoke
to give the entire island an enveloping sul-
phurous smell. Michael Anastassiades’s
models of the three volcanoes are made
from Basaltina, a lavic stone from Viterbo
in central Italy, that is likewise a product
of the country’s geological position (as are
the earthquakes of recent months and all
their very sad consequences).
Michael’s volcanoes were inspired by
Japanese suiseki or ‘water rocks’, stones
that are treasured for their resemblance
to miniaturised landscapes. Artefacts of
this sort were first imported from China in
the 6th century, but since then a specific
Japanese tradition has emerged. Prefer-
ring more muted colours and less dramat-
ic forms than their Chinese counterparts,
the Japanese rock enthusiasts derived an
intricate system of classification and quali-
tative hierarchy. Suiseki are celebrated for
having been found not made, but a de-
gree of artifice is inherent in the process of
harvesting them from their surroundings.
Vesuvio: 40.8224° N, 14.4289° E
Vulcano: 38.3946° N, 14.9706° E
Stromboli: 38.7925° N, 15.2149° E
Italy’s volcanism derives from its proximi-
ty to the boundary between the Eurasian
and African tectonic plates. Vesuvio, Vul-
cano and Stromboli are all defined as ac-
tive volcanoes. While Vesuvio is the only
such on mainland Europe, the island of
Stromboli claims the distinction of being
the world’s most vigorous, having erupted
almost constantly for the past 2000 years.
Michael’s pieces are constructed from start
to finish, yet are close in type and spirit to
‘distant mountain stones’, rocks that repre-
sent the view of a peak in the landscape.
In both the Japanese and the Chinese
schools, there is an indissoluble relation-
ship between the actual rocks and their
two-dimensional representation in prints,
paintings and drawings. The stones are
both object and image. This duality is
made clear in their presentation, be it in
conjunction with a bonsai tree, in a sur-
round of water or raked sand, or on a
wooden stand. Responding to this tradi-
tion, Michael has set his volcanoes on plat-
forms of black Marquina marble (a stone
from the Basque Country) that extend just
beyond the edge of the solid lava. Pictured
for this catalogue atop unfinished slabs of
marble, the volcanos appear to be in an
approximation of the formal settings that
are constructed by suiseki enthusiasts.
Once photographed, the conjunction be-
tween the three distinct stones and their
various forms and finishes becomes form
of collage.
As evidence of violent encounters between
the earth’s tectonic plates, volcanoes make
ready metaphors for various geopoliti-
cal crises. Determining the outlines of the
models according to data derived from
three-dimensional digital maps, Michael
exaggerated each of their heights twofold.
The volcanoes are not as they are, but
rather as they appear from their respective
bases. While bulking up statistics in order
to bring them in line with perception is a
dangerous practice in relations to politics,
in the context making of decorative mod-
els it’s obviously not such a problem. That
said, the proportions of the ‘The End of
the Affair’ could be seen as an allegory of
‘fake news’.
Emily King