bio:
Sofia Zarari completed her studies in Political Science to gain a better understanding of the World, but she felt inspired to follow her passion for art, and so ventured into jewelry design. Then she moved to Rome where she specialized in micro-sculpture. For many years she worked as a fine jewelry designer for renowned Houses with regular participation in European jewelry fairs. Her work’s visual expression through the fields of collage, assemblage, allowed her to surpass the limits of wearable art. The last decade, she has focused her perspective on the social face of art. She occasionally uses performance art—movement and speech—as a means to approach cultures, revive primitive practices, decode symbols and understand their meanings. The written word has also become an important channel for expression. Her works are included in private collections and museums around the world. She lives and works in Athens.
Sofia Zarari - Greece
statement:
Symbol of ancient beauty, the Venus de Milo, one of the most famous masterpieces of Hellenistic art, serves as the starting point and inspiration for the creation of the six pieces of jewelry in the ‘Eterna’ collection. The Venus de Milo is a paradox: a mutilated female figure two thousand years old that embodies beauty through imperfection. As for the theories regarding her original pose, there is no statue or work of art that has ever given rise to so much debate. One of the interpretations suggests that the goddess was holding a mirror or an apple. Indeed, this is how I imagined her, and began to create, in an inner exploration of the concept of true beauty. It is a constant struggle against time and wrinkles. Standing before the scales, measuring themselves so as to not exceed the dimensions that define the “ideal” body weight required to be considered beautiful and desirable, women are continually being confronted with social pressure to conform to narrow, often unrealistic standards of beauty imposed by the media and the fashion industry. The “dictatorship of beauty,” as we might call the dominance of outward appearance and its influence on human relationships—where social acceptance is often reinforced through image—cultivates insecurity. This undermines the self-esteem of every woman who has not yet reached the point of fully accepting herself and living peacefully with her imperfections through the inevitable passage of time. Dedicated to eternal beauty, the six jewelry pieces of the “Eterna” collection, celebrate authenticity. They focus on the beauty of the soul that lives and breathes through the years, expressed in the uniqueness of every woman— beyond stereotypes and social norms which only serve to feed anxiety and deprive her of the joy of life.
Symbol of ancient beauty, the Venus de Milo, one of the most famous masterpieces of Hellenistic art, serves as the starting point and inspiration for the creation of the six pieces of jewelry in the ‘Eterna’ collection. The Venus de Milo is a paradox: a mutilated female figure two thousand years old that embodies beauty through imperfection. As for the theories regarding her original pose, there is no statue or work of art that has ever given rise to so much debate. One of the interpretations suggests that the goddess was holding a mirror or an apple. Indeed, this is how I imagined her, and began to create, in an inner exploration of the concept of true beauty. It is a constant struggle against time and wrinkles. Standing before the scales, measuring themselves so as to not exceed the dimensions that define the “ideal” body weight required to be considered beautiful and desirable, women are continually being confronted with social pressure to conform to narrow, often unrealistic standards of beauty imposed by the media and the fashion industry. The “dictatorship of beauty,” as we might call the dominance of outward appearance and its influence on human relationships—where social acceptance is often reinforced through image—cultivates insecurity. This undermines the self-esteem of every woman who has not yet reached the point of fully accepting herself and living peacefully with her imperfections through the inevitable passage of time. Dedicated to eternal beauty, the six jewelry pieces of the “Eterna” collection, celebrate authenticity. They focus on the beauty of the soul that lives and breathes through the years, expressed in the uniqueness of every woman— beyond stereotypes and social norms which only serve to feed anxiety and deprive her of the joy of life.
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