UK-based, Italian artist Cristina Celestini works with coloured pencils to create figurative works, many of them large-scale, on paper. Multilayered, her drawings have a ghostly, transformational quality, whispering stories that evolve across time.In her practice, Cristina often brings women to the forefront. Among her protagonists are the Sibyls, who assumed a powerful role in ancient prophecy. Riffing on masterpieces, her heroines become active – they twist and turn away from the viewer, fly towards freedom, or find themselves in lush, natural environments.Working with coloured pencils, Celestini experiments with line and weaves incredible detail into her figures’ bodies and clothing. By layering images and colours, she explores “the fleeting nature of memory and our ever-changing perceptions.” Her fresh drawings invite viewers to look anew, and through a female lens, at well-known tales. More contemporary women also appear in the drawings of Celestini, who has taken herself as the subject of several works. In these more personal, empowering depictions, she is interested in drawing out hidden disabilities, invisible pain and sides to herself (and others), which are often unseen.