Trotula Di Salerno
As an homage to one of the first women in medicine (XII Century), that originated together with a group of physician, the texts known as the Trotula: Conditions of Women, Treatments for Women, and Women’s Cosmetics, artist Lucia Pizzani responds with a series of works using photographic alternative processes and ceramic sculptures. Pizzani, Venezuelan born from italian descent, is based in London, she is a strong female artist who has been gaining international attention for her projects that address the current social and political issues related to her native country alongside more universal taboos and enduring stigmas around femininity.
Pizzani explores the fragility of the individual and particular experience of women across time and geography, and this project. In the context of medieval Europe, the group of women who worked at the School of Medicina of Salerno were pretty advanced, as in most place women were not allowed to practice as physicians, let alone to lead, investigate and break trough like they did.
Trota is now regarded as one of the most important women in Italian and international history, as she was the first woman author of a medicinal text. Her concern for the women body was outstanding. Pizzani is bringing back to live this research by working with some the herbs and minerals Trota proposed as remedies, that are still functioning for a similar purpose in present times. These ingredients are the subjects of a new series of photograms where she dissect and looks inside the matter and compositions of each one of them. Another response in this project is a new group of boldly ceramic sculptures inspired by the figure of Trota and Medieval colours and shapes. that the artist have been developing for the pasts 10 years of her working with clay, new pieces
