There is no place for reason, for religion, and history in the peasant farmer’s world. There is no place for religion simply because everything participates in the divine; everything is actually, not merely symbolically, divine: the sky like the animals, Christ like the goat. Everything is natural magic. Even the church ceremonies are pagan rituals, celebrating the undifferentiated existence of things, and the infinity of village deities.

Carlo Levi on Sud Italian contadini culture in Christ Stopped at Eboli, 1945.

The Land of Lila, formerly Terracotta Farmacia, is a multidisciplinary land based art project—home to a medicine garden, small batch artisan apothecary and studio. My work is both a study of and practice in the vernacular art, medicina popolare, and ethnobotany of the mezzogiorno and larger Mediterranean, with a specific focus on the lifeways of those on the periphery.

The apothecary features a full spectrum of whole plant medicine, with a focus on topical preparations—specifically hydrosols and herbal soap. I make all of the apothecary offerings in house by hand, from seed to bottle, in limited editions from season to season. I take care of my medicine garden in the same ecological way my contadini ancestors did—with respect for the living soil and larger ecosystem—by not tilling, feeding the soil, and nurturing diverse densely planted polycultures. The menstruums I use are sourced directly from small ethical producers I have relationships with. Herbalism has been a part of my life from the beginning, it is how my family has always taken care of themselves and those around them. This work is a continuation of the ways I was brought up with—growing food and medicine, preserving and transforming the harvest, and being in service to the village. 

Rooted in the artisan traditions of my people and a deep love of heirlooms, ancient artifacts, folklore and feminist fairy tales—my art practice is about preservation, subversion, and creating things to last. Each work serves as a record of a life, practice, or story arising from my lived experiences and the stories passed to me. Through my art practice I connect threads, highlight cultural realities that go unspoken about, and make space for things in the margins to exist in their full expression and complexities.

“Art, I noted, can convey truths suppressed by dominant institutions.”

—Lucia Chiavola Birnbaun, The Future has an Ancient Heart

My work is an act of remembrance in service to the La Grande Madre, enchantment, and the great mystery.

My people come from the Mountains and coasts of Southern Italy. I grew up in a matriarchal household in a diverse working-class community and the struggle, love, camaraderie, and ingenuity I experienced has deeply shaped who I am. I stand firmly in solidarity with all workers and people rejecting their oppression and working towards liberation worldwide. I operate outside the margins and am interested in telling peripheral stories. My deep love of and connection to the Earth is the driving force of my life and work and I hope to help others remember how vital all of our connections with land truly are, as empire continues to sever this connection, enclose the land, and exploit our material existence.

Big Love,

Samantha Maria Blancato