“Words have a weight”: the powerful sand sculpture in memory of Paolo Mendico, crushed by bullying

On the beach of Platamona, in Sardinia, a sand sculpture appeared to pay homage to Paolo Mendico, the fifteen -year -old from Santi Cosma and Damiano, in the province of Latina, who in recent days took his life. The author is the Sassarese artist Nicola Urru, who with this work wanted to give voice to the victims of bullying, bringing attention to a phenomenon that continues to mark the life of many young people, just as the school year has resumed.

The work represents Paul with his bass, a tool he loved and appears in a photo that has become a symbol after his death. Around him, other sculpted figures indicate it, while words such as hatred, arrogance, gang and isolation emerge on the sand, terms that describe the universe in which too often the victims are trapped.

The words of the author

In the post that accompanies the images of the sculpture, Urru strongly denounces the severity of the phenomenon: “Bullying, school, home, work, road, life in general. The fear of the comparison of dealing with pupils and professors“, He writes, remembering how social pressures can turn into boulders that are difficult to bear.

The artist also underlines the distorted role of some adults, parents who minimize or even justify the discriminatory behaviors of the children, thus feeding a system that normalizes marginalization. The work thus becomes a cry against hypocrisy: on the one hand the many institutional initiatives on inclusion, on the other the daily reality made of racism, classism, homotransphobia and sexism that often reproduce inside and outside schools.

A message that weighs

The artistic gesture is also a warning to those who reduce bullying to simple jokes. “It’s just a joke“, Urru still writes,”But try to tell who fell into depression or who did not really have it“. The reference is directed to Paolo, who the day before the tragedy seemed serene, had even prepared bread and biscuits, but then gave way to a weight that has become unsustainable.

Sand sculpture thus becomes an invitation to collective responsibility: because words have a weight and marginalization, as Urru recalls, will always have it. It is up to the company to decide whether to let these tragedies slide on you or whether to transform them on the occasion of change. Remembering Paul means not turning to the other side, means choosing to build spaces where every young man can feel welcomed.

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