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New Era New Hero

Sarah Ciracì’s New Era New Hero series is inspired by Greek iconography from the Olympic Games, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens.
Crafted by artisans specialised in the reproduction of ancient Greek ceramics, the vases initially appear indistinguishable from historical originals: they depict athletes engaged in sporting competitions. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that some of the athletes’ limbs are artificial—modern prostheses subtly embedded within the traditional imagery.

The series offers multiple layers of interpretation. At its core, it reflects a posthuman perspective, revealing the artist’s interest in the intersection of science, technology, and the intertwinement between culture and nature. It explores the idea that the human condition is inherently prosthetic. Within this framework, the prosthetics used by Paralympic athletes are not anomalies but rather part of a continuum—an extension of the tools and enhancements humans have employed throughout history.

On another level, New Era New Hero draws a parallel between ancient and modern ideals of excellence. In antiquity, Greek athletes sought divine favour to achieve victory and distinguish themselves from ordinary citizens. Today, contemporary athletes with disabilities pursue transcendence through technology, pushing the boundaries of human limitations and potential. Technology, once designed to augment the senses and the body, has now assumed an almost divine status—an omnipotent force to which humans entrust their physical and intellectual lives.

Paralympic athletes thus emerge as contemporary heroes: superhuman figures in whom spiritual resilience converges with the “divine” power of technology. They stand as emblematic models of scientific progress, representing a new paradigm in which nature and culture merge seamlessly. In doing so, they challenge and transcend the ideology of anthropocentrism. 

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