Silk Road

A+A Gallery (Italy, Venice) 2007

In Silk Road, Delia addresses the classical east-west issue through the inspiration she draws from the vivacious personality of Marco Polo. The emotional and spiritual dimension of the journey he undertook in the orient allows Delia to face her own memories from her travels and personal experiences. Narration and anecdotes turn into simple, evocative, and silent forms. This combination of painting, ceramics, and sculpture is inspired by the history and architecture of the exhibition site. The Friars Minor Church of Saint Francis in Pirano. The artist attempts to challenge the quasi-closed nature of the Franciscan cloister while retaining and stressing its meditation and spiritual value as well as its value as a cultural centre. The mosaic technique used prove to be the ideal solution to achieve interpenetration of the beauty and mystic nature of the site: a strong reference to the rich gold brilliance of Byzantine decorations and thus to the religious atmosphere of ancient churches. (Excerpt from exhibition catalog written by Karen Lim)