“My work focuses on the ironic contrast between the regimented life required by diabetes and the idea that trips are ideally seen as breaks or respites from regimens and routines. I express the ambivalence this creates in my own desires to balance the demands of my disease with the desire to experience a normal existence.”

Gianna Marzilli was encouraged to pursue her art by her mother, an art teacher. Using the narrative power of images, Gianna manipulates photography to tell a story. Within this diptych self-portrait, she contrasts the grandiose places of St. Peter’s Cathedral and the Stockholm City Hall with her emotions as a visitor. “I remember standing, looking up at the ceilings of these places, and being overcome simultaneously with joy, fear, and longing...The work is a visual representation of the juxtaposition of these emotions and the separation I often feel between my physical and emotional experiences.” Gianna’s feelings are often reflected in her work, which deals with the tension and consequences of appearing unaffected by diabetes. “Part of me is hidden by invisible screens, and I remain ambivalent about whether to hide behind them or tear them down.” Originally from Wakefield, Rhode Island, Gianna is completing her degree at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

The Places You'll Go, digita prints from photography (38" x 50")