Joe, Il giardino del sorriso [The Garden of Smiles]

The artist who prefers to be known as Joe was born in Savona, and has held a variety of jobs. Among them, he worked in soccer, in the hospitality industry, and also in the fashion industry, expressing his creativity by painting designs on fabrics.

Around 2000 he began to decorate the area of a public beach near his home, first painting on the surrounding walls, and later setting up a flower bed with materials scavenged from the sea. Repainting and reinventing their functions, he included such materials as logs, toys, and lifesaving buoys. He complemented the three dimensional works with posters proclaiming messages of ecology and social justice.

The site was located along the Via Aurelia near a small public beach that included a building dedicated to the local branch of the sailor’s association. Near the cruise terminal, in 2014 a flood destroyed the garden.

~Gabriele Mina

www.costruttoridibabele.net



144 Corso Vittorio Veneto
Savona, Liguria, 17100 it
Latitude/Longitude: 44.29765 / 8.46478

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