Invited
by the Andrea Tardini Gallery, situated on the Isle of
Giudecca, it was jointly decided that I should make a site specific
project in the lagoon of Venice in support of the small community on
the island concerned about the health and the future of the lagoon.
Expeditions
in the lagoon was organized by the fisherman Flavio Righetto, who
became my guide during my residency, and took me to the less
frequented isles though dense of history linked to the Republic of
the Serenissima, passing through the period of the Austrian
occupation, to reach our time.
The
sensations evoked during the patrols in this liquid dimension, was
‘captured’ with my pinhole cameras through the dazzling light
under which the whole lagoon is immersed; the light-element being
also what I conceive as a channel between past and present and
conveyor of matter (photons) that physically connects us with the
past. As known, the time factor plays an important role in the
pinhole photograph because of the long exposures needed.
Soon
the outlines of the lagoon's existence over the centuries appeared to
me with its fragile ecological balance, but at the same time with a
pithy nature; from once having been an organic integral part of a
community and protective amniotic fluid around a city of precarious
survival, for now to be thrown as prey to unscrupulous powers and
exploited by the best offers, not being any longer protected by
adequate laws.
A
‘vibrating’ on the ‘strings’ of time, stretched between the
governance of the Serenissima, that was aware of the vital importance
of the lagoon for the city of Venice - both as military defence,
natural protection and resource for the sustenance of the population
- and a present completely lacking of ethical values, and in the grip
of the laws of trade, and an obvious shortage of foresight.
Solo Show
Andrea
Tardini Gallery
Venice
IT
Curated
by Vincenzo Estremo.
1)
“This matter of water is of such value and
importance, that in one word it can be said that it carries with it
the foundation of whole our state”
Decree
of the Solemn College at the Waters, La Serenissima, Venice
1543.
Excerpt
from the “Of the Venetian legislation on the preservation of the
lagoon”
by
abbot Cristoforo Tentori, 1745-1810
Blueprint
on 50 % Fabriano cotton paper of elaborated satellite photo of the
Venice Lagoon
(204
x 125 cm);
2)
The Venice Lagoon with the pinhole camera ‘on work’
Digital
photo;
3)
Large ferry boats ‘parked’ in the port of Venice
Inkjet
pigment prints on Canson Baryta Photographique 310gr/m2
(28 x 45 cm);
4)
Military building, Isle of San Giorgio in Alga
Inkjet
pigment prints on Canson Baryta Photographique 310gr/m2
(162 x 120
cm);
5)
Overview of Marghera
Inkjet
pigment prints on Canson Baryta Photographique 310gr/m2 (119 x 190
cm);
6)
The canal inside the Casse colmate
Inkjet
pigment prints on Canson Baryta Photographique 310gr/m2
(75 x 110 cm);
7)
View of Isle of Campana - View of the Isle of Ex-Poveglia
"Diptych", Inkjet pigment prints on Canson Baryta Photographique 310gr/m2
(33 x 45/46,5 cm);
8) Inside of what remains of the military building on the Isle of Sant'Angelo in Polvere.
Inkjet
pigment prints on Canson Baryta Photographique 310gr/m2
(69 x 110 cm);
9)
Black Lagoon
Installation: zinc basin with black water and pinhole photo clippings
(103 x 74 x 12 cm).
