Suspended: The Book came out

Published by Gente di Fotografia EDIZIONI in September 2021 I'm glad to announce that my new book, Suspended, is now ready for shipping. You may order it here. Text by Franco Carlisi and Joel Meyerowitz.

Video by Domenico Fabiano

[...]Even when we are faced with an unfinished work of art, the greatness of the author defines it and makes it magnificent in itself: it is the Unfinished. In fact, it is precisely because it has not been concluded that the artist cloaks himself in legend and in a further story that embellishes his existence since the immortality of his genius will always be traced back to his mortal being. The genius is still among us - immortal -, but through that incompleteness we remember that it was like us – mortal. But an unfinished work of art tells us even more: it tells us about the creative process, the authorial gesture’s desire that wants to reach the essence, the genius’ vitality that struggles with the indolence of illness, the mystery of a mind who does not notice the created beauty and abandons it, a contradictory era, like all eras, which establishes the canons but does not recognize the masterpieces. No unfinished work of art is minor, precisely because it is more open than a finished work of art. […]

From the Introduction by Franco Carlisi

Order Now

In Suspended there is a splendid and tragic feeling of emptiness, if those two could be mentioned in the same breath, and surreal as well. I like the scale shifts you are seeing with the cars, people, the houses, and the sun-blasted and burnt color of the landscapes and buildings. It shows me a kind of painful beauty in desolation, taking us beyond any hope of recovery. This is good work. Congratulations for staying so true.

From the Afterword by Joel Meyerowitz

  • Placeholder
  • Placeholder
  • Placeholder
  • Placeholder
  • Placeholder

Embossed hardback with tipped-in image front and back
100 pages, 55 color plates
30 x 30 cm
Text in English and in Italian
ISBN: 978-88-906116-4-3
Publication date: September 2021
GENTE DI FOTOGRAFIA EDIZIONI

The B&W Diary (1)

Back in 2015 I’ve gone through a “One Camera, One Lens, One Year” (OCOLOY) project. You may see the resulting photographs here. The project was a nice idea and, at that time, it was a collaborative effort by many photographers: Petapixel wrote an article about OCOLOY here. We were able to put together an exhibition, and one of my Ocoloy photographs was a category winner at the Sony World Photo Award in 2016.

Now, after six year, I decided to embrace a new yearly project that will use an approach similar to the Ocoloy concepts, even with a number of differences. The current pandemic situation forces us to stay away from other people. So this year (and this is probably the biggest difference from OCOLOY) I’ll focus on landscapes, and I’ll use a camera that, although quite portable, it’s the medium format Fujifilm GFX50R, so a bit larger then my trusty Ricoh GR I’ve used for the 2015 OCOLOY. I’ll be not restricting to a single lens even if I plan to use mostly the Fujifilm GF45mm. The name “OCOY” (one Camera, One Year) is quite ugly so this project will be called “The B&W diary“.

The outings will be limited by a number of, sometimes cumbersome, rules that are limiting our liberty. So I’ll be updating the diary from time to time, sharing the new photographs here and on Instagram.

I’ll be exploring and experimenting with Black and White, something I’m really not used to, and focus, as most of my photography,  on Sicily

January 2021

Mazzarino, Jan 2021 Monte Formaggio, Jan 2021 Mazzarino, Jan 2021

Iddu (Stromboli Nights)

Stromboli is a small island in the northern part of the Eolian archipelago. One of the most active volcano in the world, emerging 1.000 mt from a deep blu sea, kwon as “Iddu” (which in Sicilian means “Him”) for it’s strong character due to frequent explosions.

No public illumination is present in Stromboli: being a natural reservoir this preserves light pollution and makes the atmosphere almost surreal. Few light sources are present in an already black environment: lamps and signs, stars and spectacular lava fountains.

The project is visible here.

45 Days (Covid-19)

April, 24th, 2020. It’s now day 45 of my lockdown.

COVID-19 in Sicily has been, so far, not particularly deadly. As of today, in my region, 2.926 positive cases and 213 deaths. Comparing to other regions in Italy, such as Lombardy where, daily, the deaths count is higher, here is like heaven. Life, nevertheless, has been suspended: a bless for a region with a weak health care system.

Sicily has been always appeared to me as Suspended between past and present, with it’s ancients and contemporary ruins.In these days, the suspension is total: people as landscapes and buildings. In my few wanderings, mostly for work reasons, I looked at balconies, the skies above them, windows, walls and closed doors. Fences of our homes, shields against the invisible enemy.

Seeking for traces of lives trapped inside and finding, sometimes, people waiting. Perhaps waiting for me.

45Days(Covid19)-1 45Days(Covid19)-2 45Days(Covid19)-3 45Days(Covid19)-4 45Days(Covid19)-5 45Days(Covid19)-6 45Days(Covid19)-7 45Days(Covid19)-8 45Days(Covid19)-9