The subject is my own naked body, deliberately represented without a face—or rather, without a head. The technique used is soft pastel on wood, previously treated with gesso and acrylic.

My need to represent the body arises from the continuous, unrelenting "sensory experience" to which no body can escape, from the moment of birth until death. Through this, I attempt to give shape to the theme of bodily memory. Every body lives by expressing—often far better than words and the thoughts that precede them (hence the deliberate absence of the face)—every episode that has crossed it, bringing to light over time the outcomes of those very stories.

The pose in which my body is depicted in this work is intentionally ambiguous: is it a body collapsing or rising? Is it wounded or in ecstasy? The goal is for everyone to question the lost integrity that their own body has experienced through the impact of the experience of living.

SELF MEMORY_01

FULL_FILLED

The artwork depicts a female figure in the act of leaping, dissolving mid-gesture. The physical act coincides with the disintegration of the body, an effect heightened by the medium used to depict the figure, which, through its ephemeral material composition, emphasizes the act of vanishing.

The artist seeks to investigate the desire to escape from a complex reality: the leap toward something undefined to the viewer coincides with the exact moment the body begins to dissolve. This is not intended to reference a tragic gesture, but rather a necessary transition—the urgency for a respite, for a void, from which a new movement, a salvific process, can begin.

FADE

The work depicts a female body captured from a low-angle perspective. Professionally rendered in soft pastel, the composition unfolds upon a canvas meticulously prepared with a base of gesso and acrylic.

As the subject reveals herself in her nudity, her hands press firmly against her thighs, gripping the skin. Through this imagery, the artist explores the profound ambivalence of the gesture: is it a grip that closes off, or one that opens up? Ultimately, the piece serves as an open invitation for the viewer to contemplate the significance of their own physicality within space, and the nature of its interaction with the surrounding world.

HANDS IN BLUE

The artwork depicts a female diver plunging into the depths, viewed by the spectator from above at the exact moment she begins to disappear into the water. The technique used is soft pastel on wood, previously treated with gesso and acrylic.

The artist questions the nature of the abyss and the diver's capacity to interact with it, inviting the viewer to do the same, with the ultimate goal of exploring their own potential to bring this interaction to life.

ABYSS

This diptych comprises two panels depicting the same female figure in two distinct poses: a back view and a frontal view. The work is executed in soft pastel, charcoal, and acrylic on polyurethane.

The piece explores the psychological concept of 'mirroring'—the capacity to reflect another's behavior, emotions, or thoughts. This reflection creates a vital resonance essential for human emotional development, grounding itself in the most ancient and profound layers of our shared experience. Ultimately, the artwork probes the sense of bewilderment, dread, and solitude that takes hold when acceptance and closeness are denied, giving rise to a deep state of alienation and disorientation.

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Barbara Lelli

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