Serpientes, ornamento y ceremonia
Cecilia Brunson Projects presents the virtual exhibition Lucía Pizzani : Serpientes, ornamento y ceremonia [Serpents, ornament and ceremony], as part of Female Voices of Latinamerica on Vortic Collect.
Titled Serpientes, ornamento y ceremonia Pizzani presents a selection from her new series – Clay drawings – made during her residency at LaunchPad Lab in South-West France, last autumn.
Pizzani’s research started with an exploration of local raw clays and paper. Both paper and clay are materials produced in the region, widely known for its ceramics and porcelain production. The area has also many pre-historic sites where early pottery reveals the first expressions of material culture.
Reviewing this historic period brought Pizzani back to the snake – its power of regeneration and its many symbolic meanings. Furthermore, the snake is present in the creation myths of many cultures, as is clay. Clay has been a key material for Pizzani. She has been working with ceramics for more than a decade, producing gestural sculptural pieces that interlace with her photography, video and installation work.
The energy and flux present in the works reflect a process guided by the body. There are elements of performance and a certain ritualistic approach in this series.
“My research takes me to the past where I look into the patterns, shapes and figures that our ancestors incised in the clay to translate their world into forms. In these works, I model the clay into stamps by drawing onto them or imprinting plants or rocks found in my surroundings. The clay is then used to make drawings on the paper. By repetition, deterioration and the eventual destruction of the clay stamps, the image is formed.” explains the artist.