My practice has evolved through an exploration of my Sicilian Catholic heritage and personal family history, leading me to reinterpret religious representation through a contemporary perspective. Initially inspired by Sicilian culture and the strong faith of my Nonna, whose experience with dementia heightened her religious conviction, my work has become a reflection on memory and religious identity, understood through the effects of dementia.
I began my project with a series of photos of my sister, drawing on traditional religious gestures, expressions and dramatic lighting. Through the relationship of light and shadow in my photographs, I aim to evoke the same emotional characteristics found in traditional Catholic paintings, taking inspiration from the works of Giovanni Battista Salvi, specifically ‘The Virgin in Prayer’, 1650. By imitating elements of this representation of Mary, I explored the connection between holiness and human emotion, whilst honouring Catholicism itself. This approach allows me to reinterpret religious symbolism through both a personal and contemporary perspective, making it more understandable and relevant to a modern audience, especially those perhaps unfamiliar with Catholic imagery.
‘Duality’ focuses on two oil paintings that allow the viewer to reflect on themes of dualism, a common motif within religion. The visual spacing between the paintings prompted viewers to engage with each separately, whilst considering their relationship as a whole. I hoped this interaction would reflect the way people engage with faith and identity; seeing them simultaneously as different experiences, which are inherently part of a larger whole. I was influenced by Harmonia Rosales’s ‘Portrait of Eve’, 2021, as she reinterprets classical religious scenes that challenge traditional representations, taking particular inspiration from her realism in oil paintings and how she depicts ‘religious’ figures.
While exploring the themes of Catholicism, I found significant inspiration in my Nonna and her home, whose deep faith has been a major part of her identity throughout her life. Through living with dementia, her connection to religion became even more prominent, manifesting as an obsession with religious objects and imagery. This focus on her faith has offered me a different perspective to explore the multifaceted connections between religion, memory, and identity.
After my Nonna’s passing in March this year, what began as a reflection on what dementia was taking from her evolved into exploring what was taken from us. I created ‘Felicitá’, a portrait of my Nonna as Santa Rita, the patron saint of impossible causes. Santa Rita reflects my Nonna's own journey of endurance; as her memory and sense of self faded, her lifelong devotion to her religion remained a guiding force. By portraying her in the likeness of a saint she personally felt connected to, I wasn’t just honouring her faithfulness, but also symbolically elevating her life to a sacred level. Informed by Roland Barthes’ ‘punctum theory’, 1980, I aimed to evoke an emotional response in the viewer; an unspoken feeling that pierces through the stillness of the image.
I incorporate the technique of cut-outs, in which their physical absence serves as a metaphor for the gaps in memory and history. Aiming to explore this idea of memory and loss, I offer a representation of how history and identity are altered when parts are missing. I took inspiration from Lisa Kokin’s, ‘Sewn Found Photos’, 2001, collection, where she explores similar themes by deconstructing and recontextualising old photographs through erasing. This interaction between the original photo and its altered form captures the inherent fragility of memory.
The physical removal in the ‘La Vita é Bella’ collection became a visual metaphor for the effects of dementia, reflecting the emotional and cognitive gaps caused by the illness. This symbolised how she was physically present but mentally absent. The empty spaces evoke a sense of grief and reminiscence, transformed by layering images of my Nonna’s life. I carved the cut-outs into lino, the physical act of carving symbolising loss, and the prints representing memory. Projecting these and her cut-out silhouette onto collaged images of her life allowed me to layer the contradictory motifs of presence and absence; a reflection of Christian Boltanski’s Coming And Going, 2001, where he presents personal histories which expose photography's ties to memory and mourning. In these works I aim to humanise the impact of illness, showing its impact not only on the individual, but also on those who remain.
My final exhibition piece ‘Ci Vediamo Dopo’ consists of two photographs; one of my Nonna in her place of comfort and one where she is no longer present, her identity lingering in the space left behind. What once symbolised her dementia has now taken on new meaning since her passing.
Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. Hill and Wang, 1980.
Boltanski, Christian, “Coming and Going”, Marian Goodman Gallery, 2001. Published following the exhibition Coming and Going at the Marian Goodman Gallery, New York.
Kokin, Lisa, “Sewn Found Photos” collection, 2001, Via Lisa Kokin website, Accessed January 13 2025 https://lisakokin.com/sewn-found-photos01.html#!prettyPhoto
Rosales, Harmonia, “The Virgin”, Oil on Wood Panel, 91.44 x 91.44cm, 2018, via Harmonia Rosales website, Accessed January 20 2025https://www.harmoniarosales.art/catalogue/portrait-of-eve
Sassoferrato (Giovanni Battista Salvi) ,“The Virgin in Prayer”, Oil on Canvas, 73 × 57.7cm, 1640-50, National Gallery, London