CRISTOFORI
INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTIST
PITTSBURGH, PA
MY PRACTICE
I am a Pittsburgh native, interdisciplinary artist primarily focused in video and sculpture installation. My work serves as a mirror reflecting the self-analysis and cathartic process in which I make. Through an introspective feminist lens, I explore themes of identity through analyzing my personal experiences and traumas and how they have been impacted by my environment and circumstance. Growing up Italian-American and Roman Catholic, I frequently depict my torn relationship with religion through the use of satire to redefine traditional religious imagery. Often self-portraits, these religious icons serve as vessels to process my experiences. These works focus on the celebration and analysis of oneself rather than a fixed set of ideals. I approach these traditional archetypes as starting points to express my personal experience and build upon the original symbolism, imagery, or motif to apply to contemporary sociopolitical situations. Throughout my practice, I have utilized a wide variety of found materials and have put an emphasis on altering found objects to create completely recycled installations. I consider the alterations of these found objects a physical representation of the analysis I do of myself while I depict my experiences through my work.