For an artist, it is always a unique challenge to glean new insights from complex phenomena, such as that of human migration—an ancient, mysterious process that involves many peoples and nations and a welter of data and cultural forces.

In his project for IA&A AT HILLYER, Pietro Ruffo draws inspiration from the geographers, cartographers, and astronomers of antiquity to tackle the timeless mysteries of human movement, conflict, and assimilation. Assuming that resettlement has always been central to the survival of species—whether human or animal—the artist explores this elusive theme in a series of extraordinary works that reflect on the ancient frictions and fusions between peoples, places, and cultures of the world.