25/03/2026
Tray
year: 2022 - 2025
materials: cast aluminium, paint, gold plating
TRAY are small (dys)functional objects by Alessandra Pasqua, developed since 2022. Not mere everyday objects but vessels charged with conceptual weight and symbolic meaning, centred on the act of service and care for others. Each piece in the series is cast from a pastry tray commonly found in Italian pastry shops. Made of silver or gold-toned metal, they bear engraved sentences.
Initially, the TRAY series stemmed from reflections on patriarchy and domestic life, underscoring considerations of confinement, overthinking, and the mental load: the circularity of thoughts that occupy the private sphere. Later works (2025) began to turn outward, in an empathic embrace to humankind, with inscriptions expressing care, empathy, and support, bridging personal and collective emotion. Their colours and tonal variations mirror emotional fluctuations, rendering each piece dynamic and expressive.
At its core, the series represents a transformation: what began as a reflection on constraint and inherited roles has evolved into a language of protection, connection, and meaning. In Italian culture, serving others carries a duality: a burden and an act of love. Through TRAY, Alessandra reclaims this act, turning symbols of patriarchy into gestures of care, creating a powerful emotional and conceptual journey within her practice.
