Sonny Insinna - Balance #15

Balance

Sonny Insinna

With Balance, Sonny Insinna extends his symbolic investigation into the relationship between humanity, animals, and a planet increasingly pushed toward its limits.

The sculpture depicts a baboon and a mouse, two animals that occupy a fragile and unstable position, literally and metaphorically. The baboon sits in a precarious posture while the small mouse balances on its head, creating a vertical equilibrium that could collapse at any moment.

The choice of these two animals is deliberate. Both monkeys and mice have historically been widely used as laboratory animals, becoming silent witnesses to human experimentation and to the ways in which humanity has used other living beings in the name of progress.

Here, however, they are no longer simply subjects of experimentation. They become symbols of a much broader condition: the precarious balance shared by all living beings.

The burned wooden base represents a wounded and threatened Earth. The scorched surface evokes destruction, environmental degradation and the scars left by human activity. Above it, the two animals remain suspended in an unstable equilibrium, as if the entire structure of life were being forced to adapt to a world that is becoming increasingly hostile.

The small application of gold leaf introduces a contrasting element. Gold traditionally represents value, power and preciousness, but here it can also be read as a reminder of what we risk losing. Life itself becomes the most precious element, yet also the most fragile.

The sculpture therefore does not represent catastrophe alone. Its precarious equilibrium contains a question:

How long can life remain balanced if we continue to destroy the ground beneath it?

The work is part of Sonny Insinna's broader artistic research, in which animals become symbolic communicators. Rather than simply portraying them, the artist uses their presence to speak about human behaviour, responsibility, vulnerability and the uncertain future of our planet.

The baboon and the mouse are different in size, strength and nature, yet they are forced to share the same unstable space. Their survival is interconnected.

The balance is fragile because the Earth itself has become fragile.

Technique

Mixed media sculpture, hand-painted surface, gold leaf and burned wood.

Dimensions

Approx. 10 × 10 × 18 cm
(Base: 10 × 10 cm; total height: 18 cm)

Support / Base

Sculpture mounted on a hand-worked and burned wooden base.

Subject

Baboon and mouse — animals historically associated with laboratory experimentation and used here as symbolic figures of vulnerability and survival.

Authenticity

Original one-of-a-kind artwork, entirely handmade and hand-finished by Sonny Insinna.

Supplied with a signed Certificate of Authenticity.

Condition

Excellent condition.

Shipping

The sculpture will be professionally protected and carefully packaged for safe international shipping with tracking.

Mock-up Notice

Any interior or contextual mock-up images are for presentation purposes only and may not accurately represent the artwork's actual dimensions. Please refer to the measurements provided in the listing.