The two projects offer unprecedented perspectives and narratives on the human/nature relationship, linking traditionally unrelated elements through the conceptual framework of the archive.
The exhibition presents the photography projects Concrete by Nicola Di Giorgio and Blue Diamond by Rachele Maistrello, winners of the 8th and 7th editions of the Graziadei Award.
Although different in method and outcome, the two projects share a common ground in their questioning the photographic language and its ability to document: by leaning on the conceptual framework of the archive as a device of classification and production of meaning, the two photographers have created projects that shy away from straightforward narratives, opening wide spaces for interpretation and critical reflection.
Nicola Di Giorgio focuses on an artificial material, concrete, through which we can trace human presence in a territory, be it in the form of contemporary architecture masterpieces, or in the form of speculative overbuilding. The perception of the physical and emotional landscape is recreated by the artist through a personal selection of documents and archive materials, placed in connection by the author’s photographic exploration.
Rachele Maistrello has carried on the narrative she addressed in her previous project, Green Diamond, continuing the story of the acrobat Gao Yue, and has created a poetic and visual apparatus aimed at studying the possibilities of communication between humans and cetaceans. The artist continues to play with the threshold between true and false, historical archive and science fiction, reliability and ambiguity of the photographic language, this time offering us the opportunity to come into contact with unpublished scientific sources and materials.
header: Nicola Di Giorgio, Building Materials Laboratory. Construction saw used to grind specimens for compression testing, Palermo, #24, 2020 + Rachele Maistrello, Shape #1, 1999 – 2022.
The two projects offer unprecedented perspectives and narratives on the human/nature relationship, linking traditionally unrelated elements through the conceptual framework of the archive.
The exhibition presents the photography projects Concrete by Nicola Di Giorgio and Blue Diamond by Rachele Maistrello, winners of the 8th and 7th editions of the Graziadei Award.
Although different in method and outcome, the two projects share a common ground in their questioning the photographic language and its ability to document: by leaning on the conceptual framework of the archive as a device of classification and production of meaning, the two photographers have created projects that shy away from straightforward narratives, opening wide spaces for interpretation and critical reflection.
Nicola Di Giorgio focuses on an artificial material, concrete, through which we can trace human presence in a territory, be it in the form of contemporary architecture masterpieces, or in the form of speculative overbuilding. The perception of the physical and emotional landscape is recreated by the artist through a personal selection of documents and archive materials, placed in connection by the author’s photographic exploration.
Rachele Maistrello has carried on the narrative she addressed in her previous project, Green Diamond, continuing the story of the acrobat Gao Yue, and has created a poetic and visual apparatus aimed at studying the possibilities of communication between humans and cetaceans. The artist continues to play with the threshold between true and false, historical archive and science fiction, reliability and ambiguity of the photographic language, this time offering us the opportunity to come into contact with unpublished scientific sources and materials.
header: Nicola Di Giorgio, Building Materials Laboratory. Construction saw used to grind specimens for compression testing, Palermo, #24, 2020 + Rachele Maistrello, Shape #1, 1999 – 2022.