The research behind this artwork centers on reenacting childhood memories. Toblach 2009, like Antillia and Lezione di nuoto, draws from an early childhood drawing and revisits a specific memory from a school trip to the town of Toblach/Dobbiaco in northern Italy.

This work holds deep personal significance. One of the figures depicted is a friend who has since passed away—making the painting both an act of remembrance and a way of honoring their memory. At the same time, it reimagines that moment through a contemporary lens, blending past and present.

This piece also revisits a recurring theme in my MADE series and practice: the tension between imposed norms and personal expression.

Unlike earlier version made in 2009 shaped by my art teacher’s insistence that "flesh" (Fleischfarbe) was the only “correct skin tone”, this work embraces a big range of skin colors. The whole work was cathartic process that can turned a painful memory into something empowering and magical.

Toblach 2009 has also a real, functional clip-on reading light, incorporporated in it to emphasise the idea of illumination—both literally and metaphorically—within the work’s narrative.