In Self-Inquiry, Demetrio Di Grado draws from vintage Italian magazines to construct a portrait shaped by uncertainty and reflection. A female figure emerges at the center of the composition, her gaze partially obscured by the title itself, transforming language into a visual interruption. The question mark that accompanies her becomes both symbol and structure, reinforcing a state of hesitation rather than conclusion.
The collage is built through a fully analogue process, where paper is cut, torn, layered, and repositioned by hand. Architectural fragments, graphic symbols, and fields of color intersect with the figure, creating a space that feels simultaneously interior and external. Each element retains traces of its original context, allowing the past to remain visible within the present configuration.
Rather than offering introspection as clarity, the work presents it as a suspended condition. Meaning unfolds through fragmentation and pause, where identity is not fixed but continually negotiated. The act of questioning becomes a form of presence, attentive and unresolved.
By reactivating archival imagery through contemporary assemblage, Di Grado positions the past as a living material. Self-Inquiry reflects on how subjectivity is formed through layers of memory, cultural expectation, and personal doubt, revealing vulnerability as an essential part of awareness.