Estrella Torrico Cuadrado

I completed my doctoral studies (University of Exeter) in the Art History and Visual Culture department (AHVC) in May 2024, with a thesis supervised by Prof. Fabrizio Nevola and Dr Hester Schadee as second supervisor. The thesis investigates the communicative phenomenon of the Italian Talking Statues as spaces of contestation in continuous evolution from the Renaissance to the present day. The thesis focuses on their integration in the urban and social fabric of Rome during the Renaissance and their subsequent cultural dissemination through other media and beyond geographical boundaries from spatial and cross-chronological approaches. Furthermore, I explore the combination of offline spaces of communication with social media through the case study of the statue of Pasquino in contemporary Rome. In 2020/21 I have worked as Postgraduate Teaching Assistant at AHVC.

Previously, I have studied at the Complutense University of Madrid, obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Library and Information Science in 2004, and a Master's Degree in Documentation in 2006 with a specialization in Archival Sciences. Over the next ten years, I have developed a professional career working in fields such as culture, education, politics, or aerospace. After a work experience in Rome as a librarian, I have discovered the Talking Statues and got fascinated about it. Thus, I have drafted a project for investigating the libels affixed to them in relation to Spain during the Renaissance. In 2016, the project has been granted a research fellowship from the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome. As a result, I have published a book in 2019, and I have participated in two collective exhibitions in Rome and Madrid with activities of public engagement. In this sense, I am also interested in collaborating with artists, educators, or researchers for the development of related creative activities of public engagement in the future.