Gabriel Carucci

The central theme explored during the early phases of the most recent series of works was the analysis of Catholic relics. Relics and rituals are essential tools within Catholicism to maintain a connection between an individual and the divine. At first, these objects were confronted by focusing on the notion of ‘aura’, the aura of an object being the means through which it converses with us, as they are objects that cannot be touched nor used. They commonly serve as containers for remnants of figures of religious importance, usually a saint, so one could argue that they are extensions of the divine. Therefore, their aura attains physical qualities and it is for this reason that they are able to converse with individuals and differ from other objects. As the series progressed it was found that the aura could be altered, augmented or directed, through the use of theatricality. The means by which these objects are shown are crucial to their function. This set of ideas shifted the focus of the work towards the context in which these objects are shown. Bringing the development of a number of series that focused on spaces that displayed theatrical elements crucial to their function such as the altar or confessional.

Initially the work focused on the structure and function of confessionals. These are spaces that hold a peculiar characteristic, being both public and private. In other words, one is in a public situation as confessionals are situated within churches, yet in a private conversation. Every structural component of a confessional is in favour of its function, which is to generate conversation. The mesh being a physical barrier through which conversation occurs. The mesh was substituted by a veil, which brought the simplification of the architecture of the confessional.

During this phase the veil attained physical qualities and the work began to shift focusing on canons used in renaissance painting to generate theatricality.  This was observed through a series of works on paper, depicting decontextualised structures and objects, placed behind a veil that serves as a metaphor for the layer of theatrics that direct ones visual and spatial experience.