Rome, Florence and Venice, Italy, 15th - 25th June 2014
In June I travelled in Italy, and saw various artworks and inspiring sights along the way, most notably:
Michelangelo's David - As with all famous works of art, I was preparing to possibly be disappointed, but David was breathtaking: monolithic in size yet perfectly carved. It was also interesting to see some of Michelangelo's unfinished work, as it gave real insight into the carving process.
Tuscan vineyards - I was slightly obsessed by the ripe grapes in vineyards, and it inspired my recent works using fruit. Hanging downwards in the evening sun, the heavy bunches of grapes were a picture of fertility. Round, firm and voluptuous, I started to make comparisons between ripe fruit and the curves of a woman, as I have explored in my films and photography.
Awe-inspiring churches - I am very interested in religion, particularly Christianity. I was surprised to find that some of the churches I visited awarded me a pretty spiritual experience, moving me almost to tears at one point, despite not being religious.
The Capuchin Crypt - This underground crypt contained several chambers decorated entirely using human bones. A plaque in one of the chambers morbidly stated 'What we are, you will become, what you are, we used to be', and definitely made me feel contemplative about my own mortality. I was also very interested in some of the devices the Capuchins used to punish and self-flagellate, drawing a similarity between these and modern day sex toys used in sadomasochism, something else I would be interested in exploring and something that inspired my dissertation topic.
