…tracing Zandomeneghi’s painting with the purple poppy capsule’s mark,
that we used when we were children to paint the back of our hand, with that arcane symbol that looks like a star or like a cross-shaped.
Tattooing the skin like that was a magical and solemn gesture, almost initiatory,
that could evoke in a sunny afternoon of May without mystery, the purple shadow of sleep and death…
Caterina Sbrana, text for Zandomeneghi, catalogue for Organica, Sakros, Carrara, 2008
- Caterina Sbrana, A letto di Zandomeneghi (In bed by Zandomeneghi), poppy capsules pressed on linen canvas, cm 300×200, 2008
- The first harvest, May 2008
Island is a site-specific work that evokes the famous painting Totenisle by Arnold Böcklin (Basel, 1827 – Florence, 1901).
The windows of the Syracuse University overlook the English Cemetery in Piazzale Donatello.
Perhaps one of the possible inspirations for Bocklin’s work was this hidden place , an island in the middle of Florence.
The outline of the island drawn with the capsules and printed, applied to the glass with a transparent adhesive is like a filter on this timeless vision.
Caterina Sbrana, text for A private Geography, curated by Paola Bortolotti, 2013
Caterina Sbrana, Totenisle, poppy capsules on japanes paper, cm100x100, Syracuse University in Florence, private collection.
- Caterina Sbrana, Beata Beatrix, poppy capsules pressed on linen canvas, cm 300×350, 2010, photo credit Diego Barsuglia
- Beata Beatrix, detail, photo credit Diego Barsuglia
Hypnos, poppy capsule pressed on canvas, pigment, 2010, private collection, Abu Dhabi.