Sophia Vari
Thalassa, 2022
Amaranth wood and 18kt yellow gold bracelet
h 7 cm
edition of 6 plus 2 AP
signed and numbered
Thalassa was the primordial goddess of the sea. Mingled with Points (Pontus), her male counterpart, she produced the fish and other sea creatures. Thalassa was the literal body of the sea and in the fables of Aesop, manifests as a woman formed of sea-water rising from her native element. Thalassa is depicted in Greco-Roman mosaics as a matronly woman, half-submerged in the sea, with crab-claw horns, seaweed for clothes, and a ship’s oar in her hand.
The variety of medium present in these works is exceptional and unique. Works made of marble from Thassos, Carrara and Belgium, gold, silver, amaranth wood, Pau Amarelo wood, resin and rock-crystal are chosen to emphasise the composition of volume, form and movement. The new body of works are once again breath taking in strength and creativity. Abstraction is refined to the hummed mantra of “Beauty and Harmony” where bold geometric forms are accentuated by colour coming from unconventional mediums. They are sculptures that become wearable with the force of a poetic statement.
New materials such as amaranth wood and resin appeared in front of her by surprise. Vari was looking for something distinctive and by chance, when looking at the different colours of wood, she discovered the beautiful exotic amaranth wood. What is special about this wood, is that it is green in colour and then in contact with the sun, it transforms and stabilises into pink/purple. This new colour naturally redefines certain forms that the artist perceives differently with the other woods previously used.
