— By Andru Shively — 

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink – but if we lead people to the horse, can we make them think? That’s the idea behind a new equine statue that galloped onto the scene earlier this year in Florence, Italy.

The Marco Cavallo of the XXI Century harks back to its 1973 namesake predecessor made of wood and papier-mâché that called attention to psychiatric patients and the wider efforts in favour of shutting down mental institutions. The reboot opts instead for recycled plastics waste as material, and with its installation, artist Edoardo Malagigi asks us to give thought to two of today’s top concerns: mental health and sustainability.

Based on designs of a never-built horse sketched by another Florentine artist – one Leonardo da Vinci – Malagigi transformed recyclate pellets supplied by local recycler Revet into his sustainable steed with the aid of large-scale 3D-printing technology from Tuscany-based R3direct.

To ensure the message really sticks, affixed to the Marco Cavallo are various items of everyday plastics waste collected by volunteers in the Parco San Salvi – site of a former psychiatric hospital – where the monument now stands.

A redux after 50 years – a resurrection after more than 500 – the statue reminds that if only we stop and reflect, good ideas will never go to waste.