Elena Verri

What drives you to create?

Behind my work, there are angels and demons — the essence of our being, subtle masters orchestrating the theater of our existence. Whether in comedy or tragedy, epic poem or love song, they pursue the same purpose: to make us rejoice in life.

The desire for lightness, beauty, and the ecstasy of contemplation are gifts from angels; they invite us to delight in the spirit.

Demons ignite our senses, letting us savour the pleasures of taste and flesh; they are the princes of passion, pulling us into the enjoyment of matter.

Angels and demons are my playmates, companions in life and creation. In my work, I strive to express this duality: the lightness of spirit in the voluptuousness of form.

What inspires you?

Every creation begins with a dream. Our universe, in all its immense beauty, was undoubtedly dreamed, and each of its elements has spawned other dreams that materialised, merged, and dreamed again.

Dream, conception, birth. The creator dreams, mostly with eyes wide open. What is dreamed exists in another dimension, another plane, and begins to manifest through an image — sometimes clear and detailed, other times floating, inviting continued dreaming to refine it.

The image is a seed buried in the soil of the universal imagination. It contains its entire journey into matter. It wants to sprout, grow, bloom.

For a dream to materialise, it needs a channel that works in our dimension. Every creator is a channel who brings a dream to life. Every human being is the creator of their own world.

How do you bring your works to life?

Meditation, yoga, and walks in nature are fundamental to my creative process. A myriad of images and stories fuel my imagination. In silence and contemplation, some become clearer and more present — I even see what materials they will be made from. Sometimes I start by sketching the project; other times, I dive straight into 3D.