Architectures of Power

photography, digital collage, hand embroidery

2024-2026

This project explores the invisible forces that shape human consciousness, identity, and our perception of reality. Through self-portraits with concealed faces, the artist creates the figure of an unknown woman.

Embroidery and threads become metaphors for information flows and external influences that gradually penetrate personal space.

The project explores the tension between being shaped by external influences and finding the freedom to become who we are.

***

The Architecture of Power did not begin with a concept. It began with a phrase that kept coming back to me.

One morning I woke up with the thought, “She is gone.” Normally, dreams disappear quickly, but this phrase stayed. I did not know who she was, or why I kept thinking about her.

At that time, I was working on self-portraits. I was photographing myself in different clothes, with my face hidden. Slowly, I realized I was no longer making the same project. I was starting to tell the story of an unknown woman. I wanted to understand what had happened to her… even if I had to imagine it. While I was working, there was a constant flow of news from around the world. Even when I did not look for it, it was always there. I noticed that it started to become part of how I feel inside. At that point, I understood: photography was not enough. I felt like I needed to stitch this information into the image. That is how embroidery became part of the project. Each stitch is like a small piece of information. Together, they form an image… and also a feeling of reality. Embroidery also allowed me to add possible events to her story. Things that are not visible in the photograph, but still exist in the imagination.

When I finished the series, I noticed something. I no longer heard the phrase, “She is gone.” It disappeared.

Only her story remained.

***

Exhibition format: works printed on 60*90 cm fabric with hand embroidery

Art Exhibitions:

2026:

• INSIGHT Foto Festival (Varese, Italia) — group exhibition

Publications:

2026:

• UNSTAGED journal issue #3