Silvia Sarsano

Silvia Sarsano’s entire practice is dedicated to witnessing and tell the stories of common people. Following the portraying tradition from modern to contemporary painters, Silvia Sarsano presents the unfixed beauty of real people without idolization, a pretence of perfection, in their happiness and sorrow.

Finding inspiration in Kehinde Wiley works, Silvia Sarsano started experimenting with background, which at the first glance seems to take over the painting but instead it highlights the portrayed person even more. Applying stark shapes, commonly used as a clothes print, Silvia Sarsano spans them beyond the figures into the background blending depicted person into it. In 2019 Silvia Sarsano was invited to participate at Chander Haat artist residency in Kolkata, India. During the stay she worked on the “Kalighat project” - a series speaking about human trafficking and representing Arts & Crafts as a way of reintegrating sex workers into society.

Kolkata is the biggest hub for human trafficking in Asia. Many victims of human trafficking are reintroduced to society by learning new work skills. One of them is Block printing - the earliest method of printing patterns on textile, usually linen, silk or cotton. Adopting this wooden blocks printing technique for this series of works, Silvia Sarsano portrayed six women. One of them is not an actual sex worker but it is not said who to stress the dignity of a woman regarding her profession or social status.