Le Nereidi

Six reflective female figures evoke the presence of water inside a Roman archaeological museum, without using water itself.

Giorgio Tentolini presented Le Nereidi as part of Paradisi Artificiali at the Museo Archeologico San Lorenzo in Cremona. The six figures refer to the Nereids, sea nymphs of Greek mythology, and to the museum's ancient nymphaeum setting.

The figures use mirror-polished steel to reflect light, architectural details and the people standing nearby. As visitors change position, different fragments of the museum enter the surfaces. The image is therefore never quite fixed.

Tentolini's wider portrait practice involves hand-cutting and layering fine metal mesh to create faces through variations in density and shadow. That method helps explain his sustained interest in how material produces an image, although the precise fabrication and any separate mirrored backing of these six figures have not been independently established.

In Le Nereidi, the reflective material is especially suited to its setting. The steel suggests the shifting appearance of water while bringing the museum's present-day visitors into an encounter with its Roman past.

Presented from 19 September to 8 November 2026, the installation shows how a material choice can connect an artwork to its site and alter what viewers see as they move.