“Before I Drift Off” Italian Silk Scarf

The works of artist Codruța Cernea explore human fragility, insomnia, the relationship with motherhood, exile, adaptation, and nostalgia—themes that take on a new dimension in contact with the fine texture of Ami Amalia‘s creations.

The power of the encounter between image and fiber lies in the way these two worlds translate one another, mutually infusing each other with corporeality and memory: art becomes wearable, and objects become subtle extensions of deeply personal experiences.

In a city often too harsh, this collaboration opens a temporary island—a ghost island where fragments of dreams, skin, and memory meet.

An invitation not merely to wear an object, but to inhabit a state.
To wear a story.

“Before I Drift Off ” (2024)

The work is part of the Isychia. The Phantom Island series, exhibited in 2024 at Zina Gallery, in Cluj.

A silky embrace printed on 100% Italian silk.

“In recent years, I have experienced extended periods of insomnia. During those sleepless nights, I would often find myself with my palms placed on either side of my pelvis, waiting for sleep to come—an instinctive attempt, perhaps, to protect the organs in that area. Once I became aware of it, this repeated gesture became the starting point for the present work.

My sister was the model for the arms and hands. I photographed her in the summer of 2023, while we were at the salt baths with our parents. I reduced the scene to its essentials—the arms and the bony structure of the pelvis—and projected them onto a background composed of several collaged landscape fragments.”

Codruta Cernea