The Veil of Isis

This series of charcoal drawings is inspired by the ideas presented by Pierre Hadot in the book The Veil of Isis, where he reflects on the relationship between humans and nature. Hadot explores how, throughout history, we have tried to unravel the secrets of nature, although nature always retains a part of its mystery, making it impossible to fully understand it. The drawings invite a slow contemplation, where nature is seen not only as an object to be unraveled, but as a mystery that transcends our capacity for understanding.

The mountains of the Dolomites, formed more than 250 million years ago when they were a primordial ocean, are the central setting for this series. These mountains, partly built on ancient coral reefs, remind us of the immeasurable force of time and the natural processes that escape our full understanding.

The interaction of charcoal on paper generates images that are sometimes veiled, hidden behind layers of shadow or light, as if nature itself were resisting being fully revealed. This veil, a symbol of both the mysteries of nature and our limited perception, appears constantly in the series. By blurring the contours of the mountains, the drawings allow the viewer to lose themselves in the image, questioning not only what they see, but how they see it. In this sense, a dialogue is opened with the idea that “to see is, in a way, to hallucinate,” a notion that invites us to reconsider our perception of the world.

Finally, the works explore the relationship between photography and drawing, suggesting that both are veils superimposed over reality. The drawing based on a photograph introduces another layer of mediation.