Maria Ivanescu Cotuna’s designs are filled with stereotypical cultural meanings. Each piece is created using dissimilar materials and colours, allowing her to explore enigmatic analogies while designing. She aims to both subdue and regulate desire. The cunningness of the collection is unpredictable and adverse.
This particular wall-arrangement jumpstarted her collection. The objects are a combination of found and made objects. The association of the three symbols is what informed her development.
Mischief is represented by the tongue, that twirls invitingly, the gesture is sarcastically provocative. The cross stands for pure appropriation yet the association with the tongue defiles the propriety and the sanctity of the religious symbol.
Finally, the snake illustrates the ambivalent nature of her collection; it stands for guilt as well as sensuality, for seduction as well as discovery. The entire collection intertwines these views, allowing you to be taken on an exploratory journey of perception.
Mischief is represented by the tongue, that twirls invitingly, the gesture is sarcastically provocative. The cross stands for pure appropriation yet the association with the tongue defiles the propriety and the sanctity of the religious symbol.
Finally, the snake illustrates the ambivalent nature of her collection; it stands for guilt as well as sensuality, for seduction as well as discovery. The entire collection intertwines these views, allowing you to be taken on an exploratory journey of perception.
With the pearl necklace, Maria looked at what a pearl represents. She focused on its connection to the feminine, the pure and its connection to sensuality. She felt that in life conduct, when you come across something innocent there are two separate instincts. One it to protect what is pure, while the other is to abuse it and make it impure. The concept behind her necklace is exactly that. This idea is transpired through the alliteration of black and white pearls, as well as perfectly circular, imperfect and baroque ones.
The scope with this particular piece was to try and materialise duality. Maria wanted to create a circular shape to represent the world, the people, perceptions and all that is inscribed within its bounds.
She wanted the shape to be able to fit perfectly together, mirror itself and seem compact. She was very interested in opposing views and symbols that have dual meanings, which is why she created this piece to have contrasting materials, colours and a puzzling allegiance of elements.