In superficie
In Superficie è un progetto artistico che nasce dalla mia osservazione personale. Ho preso parte come fotografo al progetto PARTeN dell’Università di Udine: un'ampia ricerca interdisciplinare volta allo studio del paesaggio archeologico della terra di Ninive, la regione ubicata nell'entroterra dell’antica città che nel I millennio a.C. è diventata la capitale dell'impero neo-assiro, nell’odierna regione curda situata nel nord dell’Iraq. Mi sono trovato davanti a tracce lasciate da millenni di civiltà: resti dell’epoca assira, ellenistica, persiana e ottomana fino ad arrivare a resti delle guerre più recenti che hanno devastato il Paese. Ho lavorato sia su materiali archeologici, provenienti da una ricognizione di superficie, che materiali bellici. Tutti gli oggetti provengono dallo stesso strato, la superficie della terra, come se si fossero affiancati naturalmente per raccontare una sola storia che continua da secoli. Questi oggetti mostrano i mille volti dell’Iraq, un Paese affascinante che, ben prima di essere scenario di guerra e violenza, è stato Mesopotamia, la culla della nostra civiltà. L’accostamento di reperti di diversa origine storica e destinazione d’uso evidenzia, attraverso un gioco estetico di rimandi e somiglianze, la circolarità della storia. Una storia gloriosa e illuminata, che deve essere un deterrente al pregiudizio, e alla nostra prospettiva molto superficiale di osservare il Medio Oriente. Perché questa serie di oggetti è traccia del passato, un passato importante e influente che ha riflessi sul presente.
In Superficie is an artistic project that comes from my personal observation. As a photographer, I took part in the PARTEN project of the University of Udine: a wide interdisciplinary research addressed to the study of the archaeological landscape of the land of Nineveh, the region located in the hinterland of the ancient city that in the first millennium BC became the capital of the Neo-Assyrian empire, in today's Kurdish region in the north of Iraq. I found myself in front of traces left by millennia of civilization: remains of the Assyrian, Hellenistic, Persian and Ottoman until the remains of the most recent wars that have ravaged the country. I worked both on archaeological materials, from a surface survey, that war materials. All items come from the same layer, the surface of the earth, as if they had joined naturally to tell a single story that continues for centuries. These objects show many faces of Iraq, a fascinating place, that was, before the theater of war and violence, Mesopotamia, the cradle of our civilization. The juxtaposition of objects deriving from different historical origin and contexts highlights, through an aesthetic game of references and similarities, the circularity of history. A glorious history and enlightened, that should be a deterrent to prejudice, and to our very superficial perspective of observing the Middle East. Because this set of objects is a trace of the past, a past that has important and influential reflections on the present.
In Superficie is an artistic project that comes from my personal observation. As a photographer, I took part in the PARTEN project of the University of Udine: a wide interdisciplinary research addressed to the study of the archaeological landscape of the land of Nineveh, the region located in the hinterland of the ancient city that in the first millennium BC became the capital of the Neo-Assyrian empire, in today's Kurdish region in the north of Iraq. I found myself in front of traces left by millennia of civilization: remains of the Assyrian, Hellenistic, Persian and Ottoman until the remains of the most recent wars that have ravaged the country. I worked both on archaeological materials, from a surface survey, that war materials. All items come from the same layer, the surface of the earth, as if they had joined naturally to tell a single story that continues for centuries. These objects show many faces of Iraq, a fascinating place, that was, before the theater of war and violence, Mesopotamia, the cradle of our civilization. The juxtaposition of objects deriving from different historical origin and contexts highlights, through an aesthetic game of references and similarities, the circularity of history. A glorious history and enlightened, that should be a deterrent to prejudice, and to our very superficial perspective of observing the Middle East. Because this set of objects is a trace of the past, a past that has important and influential reflections on the present.
In superficie, fine art giclée inkjet print on Photo Rag cotton paper, 50x50 cm, 2015