RSA Banenr
Ave Sorella, oil on cartridge paper, 22 × 31cm, 2024

Chiara Castiglione

Art and Film

As a mixed media artist I explore themes of memory, identity, and religious symbolism. Through photography, painting, printing, and projection, I reinterpret traditional Catholic representation through a contemporary perspective, reflecting on the emotional effects of illness and loss.

Much of my work is derived from personal history and my Sicilian Catholic heritage, especially the life and faith of my Nonna, whose experience with dementia heightened her religious conviction and profoundly shaped my practice. 

My work has become a reflection on memory and religious identity. After my Nonna’s passing, it shifted to explore grief and remembrance, using cut-outs and layered imagery to symbolise mental and physical absence. Through this, I aim to humanise the impact of illness, creating work that reflects experiences of memory and faith.

Duality, oil on cartridge paper, 21 × 30cm, 2024
Benedicta Sorella, oil on cartridge paper, 22 × 31cm, 2024
Untitled series, digital image, taken on Canon EOS 550D, 2024
Sacred Repetition, digital photoshop image, 2024

Reading School of Art