Adelaide Damoah in Conversation with Sissetta Zappone: Art Discussion

Sissetta Zapone is based at Second Floor Studios in Woolwich in SFSA Unit 4, Studio 8. For more information on the studio complex, please visit: http://www.secondfloor.co.uk/members/sisetta-zappone.aspx

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Sissetta in her own words:

Biography

I am from a village in Aspromonte, Southern Italy, land that was once Greek, but also in contact with Arabian culture and

Spanish influences, that had French and Swedish kings and local brigands.This corner of Mediterraneo is full of stories,

history and syncretism, the mix of religions and languages being still evident in our dialects and folklore. I grew up there,

absorbed its legends, looked at their relics, developing a fascination for narrative and archetypes (which are still present

in my current work).

I moved to Florence in 2002, practiced and studied in a traditional institution, where contemporary art knowledge and

experimentation were frowned upon.

In 2005/6 I won an Erasmus Grant and I lived in Granada (Spain), blending in a different artistic environment and

learning Spanish. When back in Florence I struggled, my painting teacher used to denigrate my experimentations. It was

then that I had my vital encounter with printmaking.

I gave up painting the same year of my graduation and decided to study at Bisonte International School of Graphic Arts,

where my passion for printmaking blossomed on a two year intensive course focused mainly on etching and engraving,

but covering also Lithography on stone, Screen-print and Wood-cut.

Till 2010 I worked as an assistant at Bisonte and as a freelance printmaker for various studios, but I wanted to step away

from some Italian tradition and unadventurous taste so I moved to London.

My Work

I would call myself a “Jungian artist”, because I believe in the collective subconscious; my favourite artists are Peugino,

Blake, Bosch.

My style is characterized by a solid arcane background. My prints are detailed and obsessive I prefer traditional

techniques and materials. Their subjects disclose a dense imagery of both the painful and the humorous.

From a meticulous observation of reality, I look to produce shapes that are rooted in everyone subconscious.

My poetic embraces the idea of microcosmos being macrocosmos' mirror, where nature nurtures our mind and thoughts,

teaching us how to observe and how to wonder, through its metamorphosis.