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Naked Orb
Lorenzo Poli
Series description

This is an Earth, in which the atmosphere has vaporised, swallowed by galactic silence. Clouds have unravelled, their drifts blasted into nothingness. Where there was once a breathing dome, blue and infinite, there now hangs a dark void – a fragile orb adrift in space. Earth lies bare. On her once biodiverse body, only human geoglyphs remain, the fading relics of terrestrial ambitions. Naked Orb seeks meaning, visualising a planet bereft of its living veil, transformed over millions of years of symbiosis. The series is part of an 18-month metaphysical investigation into South America’s mining territories, seen through the lens of a European architect as he sought to engage with the spiritual dimensions of our epoch, immersing himself in the monumental formations of our time. In the cosmic silence, human presence narrates geological time through topographies of extraction, economic asymmetries and ecological neglect. Can these geoglyphs inspire a new era? One that honours Earth’s generosity and reshapes our ambitions?

Biography

Italian UK-based Architectural Engineer expanding his practice into the metaphysical realms of Visual Arts since COVID-19.
Having worked with Nouvel, Norman Foster, and Apple R&D, I travelled the world exploring sustainability and societal impact. After Antarctica and since 2023, in South America mapping mining landscapes. My interdisciplinary and spiritual investigation engages with biocentric equality, juxtaposing anthropogenic territories with untamed biomes. 2022 SWPA Landscape Pro Winner.

Alien Landing
The barren deserts of nitrate processing by-products. Oficina Prosperidad is a historic nitrate-processing facility, and part of a larger network of salitreras or nitrate-extraction facilities. These facilities were pivotal during the nitrate boom in the late-19th and early-20th centuries but were later dismissed due to technological decline. Atacama Desert, Chile.
(Extra)Terrestrial Tailings
Moon-lit residues at the periphery of industrial ambitions. Cerro Colorado Mine, Tarapaca, Chile.
Orbital Acropolis
The industrial colonisation of planetary horizons. Potrerillos Mine, Chile.
Self-Organising Geographies
Terraforming patterns of sprawling tailings. Waste rock exhibits self-organising and emergent geometries similar to those found in the natural world. Chuquicamata Mine, Atacama Desert, Chile.
Shell of the Anthropocene
The sedimentary processes of monumental mining depositions. Chuquicamata Mine, Atacama Desert, Chile.
Earthly Womb
Where cosmic winds and human ambition converge. Chuquicamata Main Mine pit is the largest open-pit copper mine in the world by excavated volume and the second deepest, reaching depths of approximately 1,000 metres. Chuquicamata Mine, Atacama Desert, Chile.
Orb of Time  
Humankind’s testament, carved into geological memory. Cerro Colorado Mine, Chile.