Taking a break…
3
Until then, you can send me links, photo projects, or cookies for feedback on e-mail.
cnimigean[@]gmail.com
Simona Rota – Instant Village
“This reminds me of Brasilia (…). It is fascinating that there is a city, planned from beginning to end (…) But despite of so much planning, the best was a place where you could find “life”: in Brasilia there is a kind of market installed in a huge field which was originally a park and now invaded by people who, let’s say, seek for some disorder in a city so completely planned. This unplanned and unexpected place was the most beautiful and the only one where it was possible to live.” (Wim Wenders).
“To what extent can territory planning be considered meaningful? At what level its artificiality does more damage to the territory than improvisation? There are natural needs of using land that are best filled through improvisation, in those situations where urban planning fails to represent it and, there are needs, which despite of being collected by an urban plan, end up creating more precarious urban situations than spontaneous urbanism itself.”
Nicolo Degiorgis – The Hidden Islam
“Islamic makeshift places of worship in Italy. There are only two official mosques in the whole of Italy despite a significant and growing Muslim population of over a million people. Through depicting the proliferation of industrial, makeshift places of worship, such as old warehouses, basements, garages and supermarkets, this project documents the resilient spirit of Italian Islamic communities who, though denied collective religious rights, retain autonomy by the reclamation of disused urban spaces. Italy, 2009-2011.”
Marta Soul – Idillios
www.martasoul.com and www.nophoto.org
“Idilios (Spanish lyrical word for ‘romances’ in English) shows a series of romantic recreations based on amorous experiences represented by the same woman (the artist’s alter ego) kissing different men in various places.
The series is constructed in an ideal context in order to accentuate the romantic love experience. A jewellery shop, a golf course and a luxury hotel appear as appropriate sites in which to stage romance. Experiences are more intense and happiness is materialised.
The kiss is the main act and the only one, a symbol of the stereotyped romantic situation. Immediate satisfaction is found in the kiss. It begins and ends the entire narrative scene and is the iconographic element of the image. What the red-headed star of the series does is consume that moment as fully as possible
Yes, it is all about consuming. The man appears as the woman’s partenaire: he is just one more element, not a co-star, and therefore he changes with the setting. The action is dehumanised to some extent by this reiteration of instants that give priority to light, luxury and form over emotions. Constant renewal seems to be the only path to reach our ideal, which is perhaps more in line with an advertising slogan than with any other belief.
The reflection in this work originates in trying to understand how we integrate our emotions into a consumer lifestyle in which everything has to be attractive yet has an expiry date because there is a constant search to change for something better.”
Unexpected Rendezvous At Hotel Suite I
At Paradise Gates
Romance At Apartment
Kissing Secretly
Unexpected Rendezvouz At Hotel Suite II
Romance At Art Gallery
more images and other interesting projects on Marta Soul’s website; found on La Lettre de la Photographie
Francesca E. Harris – Psychonauts
“Psychonauts is a humble inventory of persons who explore their minds through the use of psychoactive drugs, in particular those that fall under the psychedelic (literally ‘soul or mind-manifesting’) category. In a society where prohibition reigns and traditional shamanism has all but disappeared, these sailors of the psyche provide an alternative to the media peddled government stereotype of a drug user. Locations are depicted where each person has had a psychedelic experience.
I am hoping to find a publisher for a book of this project. This would include the interviews I conducted with each person in the series, which are an integral part of the work. A preview of the test run can be found at the Blurb bookstore.”
Coraline
Courtyard
Miriam and Max
Flat
Kat
Tree
Will
Kitchen
more images and other interesting projects on Francesca E. Harris’ website; found on Joerg Colber’s blog