Caterina Silenzi creates her work by combining animal remains with ceramics. She uses the ancient Japanese technique of Raku, a long and complex procedure whose main elements are fire, air, water and earth. Combined with extreme temperatures the firing is akin to a crematorium, turning the craft into a sort of shamanistic ritual and creating a new life.
I love the understated narrative of Caterina's work. Her work adeptly evokes emotion from the viewer through the tragic and beautiful juxtaposition of the animal remains and the new creation. This paradoxical presentation is the embodiment of beauty and sadness, life and death and traps the viewer in a space somewhere between the two. There is no definitive beginning or end in her portrayal of the "circle of life" and the point where the two become one is a place we aren't often forced to examine.
Although she hasn't posted anything new in quite some time, I really hope to see more of her work. Maybe her absence is because she is busy crafting a new story and delivering us the magic of another life reborn.
You can see more of Caterina's work on her website.
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