Exclusive to Melbourne, The Holy Shroud (La Sacra Sindone) – an immersive experience by celebrated Italian artist Veronica Piraccini will be presented at SpACE@Collins this November.
For 10 days only, six artworks created in response to the Holy Shroud of Turin using an ancient technique and colours of Piraccini’s own invention, invite you to embark on a historical, scientific and artistic journey whilst provoking dialogue and contemplation.
The Holy Shroud will be presented for the first time in Australia, after successful exhibitions in Italy, the United States, Brazil, Africa, the Philippines, Spain, Mexico and China. Ticket buyers for each session time during the exhibition period will be taken on a guided tour of the artworks.
The Holy Shroud explores the enduring fascination with the Holy Shroud of Turin – a large linen cloth bearing the image of a crucified man, alleged to be Jesus of Nazareth. For millions of the Christian faith, the Shroud of Turin is physical proof of his crucifixion, death and resurrection – and is also the most scientifically researched, analysed and tested religious relic in the world, with its formal study known as sindonology.
Veronica Piraccini is an internationally respected artist and academic based in Rome. She currently holds the Professional Chair of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, the first woman to be appointed in that position. Piraccini has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. In January 2015, Pope Francis bestowed his blessing on Piraccini’s works, assuring the artist an honoured place in a long tradition of sacred art.
During Easter celebrations in 2012, Veronica Piraccini found herself in a unique position when she looked upon a life-size scan of the Holy Shroud of Turin which was delivered to her studio in Rome. It was the culmination of a dream come true for the artist, who has always been attracted by the Shroud of Turin in the same way that it has fascinated theologians, archeologists, historians and scientists throughout the ages.
Piraccini’s reaction to this experience gave rise to a series of artworks that would intersect ancient methods with innovative techniques, using what Piraccini calls ‘imperceptible’ pigments, because of their extraordinary ability to appear and disappear with a change of light. Piraccini used these pigments to create colours that are unique and cannot be duplicated. The works were completed in February 2013 with two of the works approximately the same size as the original Holy Shroud (4.37m x 1.13m).
The Holy Shroud exhibition is curated by Dr Giovanni Butera, Chairman of GAIA, the Global Association of International Artists and CEO of the Nixora Group. “It is a journey through history and art to discover the artistic legacy of the Holy Shroud through the artworks of Veronica Piraccini,” says Butera.
The Holy Shroud (La Sacra Sindone)
SpACE@Collins – The Walk Arcade, Level 1/278 Collins Street, Melbourne
Exhibition: 15 – 24 November 2019
Entry fees apply
For more information, visit: www.artgaianet.org for details.
Image: Veronica Piraccini, From the Imprint of Jesus (Dall’Impronta di Gesu’). Chemical pigments, Imperceptible (invisible–visible) on herringbone linen canvas 4.63 x 0.97 metres, Rome 2013