Skull
The collaboration between Cesare Villari and Fumie Sasabuchi, realized in
November 2008, is a meditation on mortality, nature, and transformation—
brought to life through the medium of porcelain and organic materials. This
limited-edition series reflects a dialogue between Sasabuchi’s delicate yet
provocative visual language and Villari’s mastery of sculptural technique and
porcelain.
At the heart of the work are life-sized porcelain skulls, crafted with anatomical
precision. Two variations are documented in the photographic series
— White porcelain, evoking purity, fragility, and classical sculpture
— Black porcelain, suggesting ritual, mystery, and the void
These skulls are not merely memento mori—they become containers for life
itself. The artist has requested the integration of real plants, introducing a living
element into a medium traditionally associated with permanence and stillness.
The contrast between the cold, inert surface of the porcelain and the vitality of
growing flora becomes central to the work’s meaning. Life and death, decay and
regeneration, artificiality and nature coexist in delicate balance.
Fumie Sasabuchi, a Japanese artist known for her explorations of beauty, identity,
and the ephemeral body, often works with themes related to impermanence and
transformation. Here, she brings that sensibility to a collaboration that transforms
the human skull into an object of meditation, growth, and renewal. The presence
of plants—sometimes sprouting from the skulls themselves—acts as a quiet,
organic intervention that alters the perception of the object over time.
Cesare Villari’s involvement elevates the project through the exacting production
of the skulls, which require not only sculptural precision but also a deep
knowledge of porcelain’s behavior and limits. Each piece is produced as part
of a limited edition, in response to the artist’s conceptual vision, ensuring that the
work retains its intimate, contemplative nature.
Together, Villari and Sasabuchi offer a poetic, material reflection on the
cycles of life and the uncanny beauty that emerges when the human form is
recontextualized through time, nature, and craft.
2008, Fumie Sasabuchi
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