Castiglione. C. 'Felicità'. 2025. Exhibition View, Oil on Canvas with light overlay
Castiglione. C. 'Felicità'. 2025. Exhibiton View without light overlay. Oil on Canvas. 60 x 84cm
Castiglione. C. 'Felicità'. 2025. Oil on Canvas. 60 x 84cm
(2) Castiglione. C. 'Felicità'. 2025. Details. Oil on Canvas
'Felicità' symbolises how, in the final stages of my Nonna’s life, dementia reduced her world to her Catholicism. Religion became her entire reality, and through this work, I wanted to show how she seemed to manifest into a saint-like figure.
I was influenced by Roland Barthes’ concept of punctum 'emotionally charged, subjective detail in a photograph that "pricks" or "wounds" the viewer.' In this portrait, the splinter in her forehead might seem insignificant, yet it acts as a the punctum of the image and a metaphorical wound: a symbol of her dementia’s invasion of her mind.
The surrounding light in the piece enhances the sacred atmosphere, extending from the painted halo and giving the work a glow. This effect makes the figure feel three-dimensional, further elevating her presence within the composition.
Barthes, Roland. “Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography”. Hill and Wang, 1980.