"warriors"

by elisa mantovani

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Six delicately and precisely moulded faces faintly surface from colourful and spherically ornamented shells. The attention of the viewer is transfixed by the elegance and fragility of these seemingly sleeping faces, gazing outside of the frame into the world. Despite their eyes being closed, it's as if they can peer right into ones soul through meditative eyes.

Their expressions are solemn, conveying dignified and ceremonious strength amplified by the accentuating bright colours, bringing the focus to the center of the composition. The viewer is mesmerized by the fine and subtle detail with which Monica Vaccari shaped the "Warriors", to give them a contrasting air of sensibility and sincerity mixed with majestic pride and power. 

Monica Vaccari's piece conveys a powerful emotional strength: she reaches deep into herself expressing her "stages in life, in which [she felt] more vulnerable, weak and in need of protection."

During her stay in Brussels Monica started working more with clay and glass and experimenting with a face emerging from water: it was her first attempt to describe Ophelia and the feminine condition. She comments "It was so important for me to give voice to all the women still trapped in their marginalization for being born a woman. The recurrent motif of the surfacing face is the representation of these women that are emerging from their past, from stories of violence, submission, and humiliation.

The message is positive to me and it's a hope for the future generations."

The series "Warriors" draws the audience in, they emit encouraging attitude: they are not attacking, but defending their own freedom. The fine technique of the glazed striking colours, fired with the Japanese method called "Raku", embellish with their recurrent pattern, a sense of lightness and vivacity to the dormant, introspective faces.