Body Mandala

Body Mandala

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This work was for a long time friend whom I experienced many happy moments with.

Our relationship has been kept strong through the years by the fact that we both like dancing and doing sports and be positive and active in life.

That’s the reason behind the choice of making a Mandala for him.

Mandalas are energetic centres, little universes and symbolic hubs of energy.

This is one of the first artworks that are going to populate his house and I thought giving him a positive whole circle of good energy was a good way to start his life in his new place.

Also our connection is based on our time spent by moving our bodies around in different situations so I felt that making a mandala with body parts was on point.

So thanks Gabriele Gaffuri for the support and the commissioned work.

MAMA

During italian summer Andrea Saderis, from Espresso Italia bar of Pinerolo, and I collaborated to a music performance of my South African friends Josh Roxton and Gershan Lombard aka Khoisanboy_man.

They were touring around Europe as a pilot project for MAMA Tour. MAMA is Modern African Music Awareness project that aims to create awareness on young african musicians and to break the stereotype of african music as just traditional music.

Andrea has been incredibly supportive and his work for the music industry and the young independent musicians from all over the world is amazing.

Then he commissioned me two artworks.

I use the nudity of my body as a natural instrument, engaging with the spaces through different positions that will evoke meanings in your mind.

"Unashamed" mixed media on canvas, Torre Pellice, 2018.

Rising and falling, mixed media on canvas, Torre Pellice, 2018.

AfrodITA Jewellery

AfrodITA Jewellery is a range of jewellery inspired by women naked bodies.

I was concentrating on these drawings of bodies made with very simple and bold lines. Exploring this style I noticed that the bodies would become a little less obvious and they would gain a sense of pride and ambiguity.

I was showing my room to my friend Josh Roxton who happens to be an amazing musician but also a very good jeweller. He sees the drawings, turns around and tells me we need to make a new jewellery brand. I was seeing just my drawings and I was looking for an inspiration to transform them into something and he just saw the product right trough.

Since then there has been loads of trial and fail and still now the exploration of materials and techniques is still on going.

I find interesting the outcome of this little objects. I use my body a lot for my art and for other people's art through nude modelling and Im very honest and proud of my body so for me to wear it on a necklace piece hasn't been such a big deal. Then I realised how actually controversial this pieces are. Some women would wear them in absolute tranquillity and others are scared or ashamed to wear a naked woman body because they feel afraid of what other people would think. Our naked bodies, female and male, images are too often commercialised, sexualised, used to gain attention on a certain something to sell. They are basically pulled away from their nature and used to dictate a way to look or to be.
I use nudity in my art to re-appropriate myself of the power of my natural body. Nakedness without the shame attached to it but taken for its natural existence. Or actually seeing sex also as natural and not this weird taboo we going back to in our society.

I found also an interesting process that happened since I started this jewellery production.
Since the beginning of 2018 when I started to work on AfrodITA I noticed more and more women projects growing, more attention on femininity (as care, vulnerability, earth power) from guys who challenge themselves in growing this part of themselves, more documentaries about caring loving and sharing.

Enjoy and thank you for your attention and support!

Many thanks to:

Josh Roxton, Eugene Van Der Merwe for the design work, Chloe Swingewood Roxton for computer work, Zayne Bartley for love and collaboration, girlfriends that are the witches in my heart that keep me going strong, all the people and friends that support my art.