Like Boiling Ice Exhibition
at
L44 Space, Sofia, Bulgaria
Like Boiling Ice
As an illustrator, I often rely on visual metaphor to convey meaning and abstract ideas. I look for connections between what we see and what we don’t.
During a trip to Iceland last year, I read „The End of Trauma“ by psychologist George A. Bonanno. His research suggests that human resilience isn’t the exception but the norm—and that much of it is rooted in flexibility.
Surrounded by water in all its forms, I couldn’t help but notice how it mirrored the resilience I was reading about. Water flows around obstacles, evaporates into clouds, freezes into snow or ice, and endures. Always changing, always adapting to the forces around it.
Raging rivers, steaming hot springs and vast glaciers became travel sketches and then the protagonists of a new series of prints exploring resilience through water's adaptability.
When ice is heated, it melts into water, then rises as steam. Resilience—like boiling ice—is a process of transformation. It asks us to let go of what was and trust in what’s next.
Francesco Ciccolella,
April 2025