Research Summary for the Landscape project
“Taci. Su le soglie “Be silent. At the edge
del bosco non odo of the woods I do not hear
parole che dici the human words you say;
umane; ma odo I hear new words
parole più nuove spoken by droplets and leaves
che parlano gocciole e foglie far away.”
lontane.”
-from: La pioggia nel pineto (Rain in the pinewoods), Gabriele d’Annunzio, 1902
Thinking about Landscape photography I made a connection with painting straightaway. There were some specific images fixed in my mind from the beginning: the deserted Italian courts of Giorgio de Chirico, the melancholic street views of Edward Hopper and the idilic scenery of theRomanticism.
I wanted to create a silent and dream-like setting in my pictures, so, at first, I opted for considering both urban and natural landscapes in order to rate which one would have better represented my idea afterwards. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the idea of a deserted urban scene was almost impossible to achieve, especially in London, as a consequence I started to “hunt” woodlands around the city. Furthermore my birthplace is a small town at the foot of the mountains and I used to do long walks into the wood, therefore shooting in these areas made me feel less distant to home.
I have done lots of research about the forest and its symbology. I found a large number of interesting things regarding the subject: art, music, poetry, literature are full of references to the natural world. The common element I have noticed during my studies is the sense of mystery and sublime that surrounded this enchanted location. The ancient civilisations, for example, considered the forest as a natural sanctuary where the single tree (composed by roots, trunk and branches) represented the link between the earth and the sky. With the invention of psychoanalysis, the wood became the corresponding of our unconscious: an arcane place where all the primitive forces which guides us are hidden. This is also the source of inspiration and home of an incredibly vast number of fables and fairy-tale; almost every Grimm brothers’ story is set in the woodland.
Taking in to consideration all these various aspects I have tried to reproduce them in my photographies. I have been looking for a specific atmosphere; I wanted my images to transmit a bit of the magic we can found in the tales.
When I had clear in my mind what I aspired to do I started thinking about how to put into practice. After a while I found myself in front of two different path I could follow: the first one involved tiny artificial lights laying on the trees as a representation of the little spirits which home the forest, the second one was about to find small panes where the nature itself seemed to be composed by unreal elements. I carried on both the possibilities, but at the end, after infinite afterthoughts, I chose the second option. Even though the lights better represented, in a sense, what was my idea, they appeared to be too artificial.
My pictures were inspired by the work of two contemporary photographers, Ellie Davies and Thomas Jackson. I was immediately captured by their style and I recognised in them the type of images I aimed to create. Both these artists outline a nature surrounded by a dreamy atmosphere in which all the elements contribute to build an intriguing story within the picture itself.
To depict the kind of ambient I had in mind, I have included in my photos peculiar foliage comportment and colours combination which emphasises each other.
This project allowed me to discover and visit beautiful places around the city; there are more woodlands just a few miles from London than someone could imagine. More precisely I went to three distinct parks: Ashridge Estate (north), Black Park (west) and Bushy Park (south-west). The fist two, in particular, are often used as set for movies, thanks to their beauty and uniqueness. For each location I have spent almost an entire day wandering around in search of the perfect slice of wood to shoot. This helped me to get to know the area; I was in an amazing place, absorbed by nature, doing my favourite thing (I couldn’t have asked for more!).
This second task gave me the opportunity to revalue the Landscape photography. I prefer portraiture and I have always find landscaping a bit boring, but during my path I have changed my mind. Maybe the picture of a face could be more expressive, nevertheless to photograph a panorama you need to go physically on the site and from these experience you always learn something. Unlike the Street Photography assignment, here I was forced to think about not only the shapes, but also the colours. I have also experimented a diverse approach to photography: I have worked on my images with a computer rather than edit them manually in the dark room. Moreover, the landscape photography is slower, in a sense, it requires longer timing to soot and you need to give more thought on what happens in front of the lens.
Photography is a silent medium and because of that I have tried to find (and illustrate) the silence in my pictures. To me the wood represents a place of meditation, peace and protection; my intent was to convey how I feel this habitat and let the others to see the world with my eyes.
