Uncoiling Meaning: Giulia Frascari’s “Serpents” Series

Giulia Frascari’s artistic path winds much like the snake-like forms she paints. Raised in a small Italian town, she experimented with different art forms before refining her skills at the Art School of Ferrara and the International School of Comics in Florence. Though she began her career with finely detailed illustrations, it was a community street art project that nudged her toward bolder forms of expression, with a style marked by vibrant color, simplicity and layered symbolism.

In her ongoing series Serpe (Italian for “snake”), she conjures surreal hybrid figures, part human, part snake, rendered in acrylic on canvas. Occasionally, she opts for more unexpected surfaces, such as sanitary pads, adding a provocative layer of meaning to the pieces.

A recurring element in the series is the presence of small droplets, ambiguous stains that suggest blood, sweat or tears. On a symbolic level, they evoke pain, endurance and emotional shedding. When combined with the raw, intimate material of the sanitary pad, these marks resonate more deeply, evoking themes of femininity, biological cycles, and the quiet violence often entwined with both.

To see more of Giulia Frascari’s thought-provoking work, explore her portfolio on Behance and follow her journey on Instagram.

More art on the grid via Instagram