CARIDDI - SEMINARA MASKS

In Greek mythology, the name CARIDDI (Charybdis in English) belonged to a monster that lived in the sea between Calabria and Sicily and destroyed ships by swallowing them up and spitting them back out, generating dangerous whirlpools in the water. This myth is reinterpreted in the form of a mask, which inverts the traditional convex surface to create a concave volume inspired by the underwater world. The mask invites the gaze into the blue depths of its smooth interior, where an uncanny protrusion emerges in the shape of a nose, a signature motif in Giovanni De Francesco’s artistic production. Each nose-island is different from the others; every mask has a unique beauty accentuated by imperfections, smudges, and uncontrollable colors, invoking the unpredictability of fear. This perception overturns the ferocious symbolism of the legendary monster, rewriting CARIDDI as a welcoming narrative. The artist’s explorations of fear, danger, and the unknown become particularly poignant when placed in the recent historical context of Calabria and the Mediterranean Sea.

In the exceptional conditions of the present moment, when hundreds of millions of people are spending more time at home than ever before in living memory, the homeware brand TRAME wants to share the inspiring and supportive influences of these Mediterranean ritual objects with the entire world.
The masks, whether the traditional forms or the contemporary design interpretations, reveal a sense of both timelessness and contemporaneity in their aspirational evocation of a social life with more serenity and less fear.

Details: 

• Dimension: approximately 28H x 22W x 8D cm
• Material: 100% mediterranean terracotta clay
• Technique: 100% handmade in Italy
• Each handcrafted CARIDDI Seminara mask is unique. Picture on an indicative basis. 
• 14-days return policy
• In stock

Giovanni De Francesco (Bergamo 1976), lives and works between Milan and Paris. He is a visual artist dedicated to sculptural installations through the use of plastic materials, photography, video, painting and sound. Since 1997 he has taken part in many personal exhibits as well as collective ones. He an artistic consultant at the Luisa delle Piane gallery in Milan and is a founding member of the Monstera theatre company.
He occasionally collaborates with Andre Branzi and is an honorary member of the Onlus Atelier dell’Errore.