MY RIVER
BY GIANPAOLO ARENA
Gianpaolo Arena, architect and photographer, develops research projects on social and documentary themes and environmental issues. The interest in architectural representation has oriented his attention towards architectural photography, urban landscape, the use of photography as a survey of the anthropized territory and towards relations of multiple identities that belongs and characterizes places and people. An important part of his photographic research is developed on modified landscapes in different companies, industrial sites and in the business world. Since 2010, he is editor of a magazine on international contemporary photography called: “Landscape Stories” with which he coordinates photographic campaigns in the territory, workshops (Massimo Siragusa, Bruno Ceschel-SP, BH, Raimond Wouda, Valerio Spada, Francesco Jodice, Simon Roberts, Vincenzo Castella, Tre Terzi), editorial (Adolescence book, Gianluca Perrone “Balere”, Joël Tettamanti “Works 2001-2019” for BENTELI Verlag!) and exhibition projects (Photissima Festival Torino, 2012, Sifest 2014, 21er Haus, Vienna, 2014). Since 2013 he is the curator of the project “CALAMITA / À”, a platform of investigations and researches on the territories in Vajont. His project “My Vietnam” was presented at the photographic festival “ F4_an idea of photography” in Villa Brandolini, Pieve di Soligo TV in 2013 and during 2014 at the” Photography Festival” in Padova, at Galleria Anteprima d’Arte Contemporanea, Rome and at Fotografia Festival di Roma. In 2013 he participated at the “The 10th Sao Paulo Architecture Biennale”, Brazil with “Latitude Platform” organization. In 2015 he take part of the jury of Melbourne ‘Photobook Award’ and of ‘On Landscape Project’, Matèria in Rome. Teacher of Bitume residency.
synopsis
A resurgent river that winds for about 100 kilometres, shaping springs, little lakes, marshy areas, peat-bogs. The main features of this river and lagoon territory often remain indistinct. The space is not only the background of an action but it often becomes the main character. The perception of it seems confused, indistinct and the limits of the visible become more noticeable. The river is repeatedly the object of other eyes, often the object turns into subject. The observer becomes landscape and vice versa. The eyes and the points of view multiply: landscapes only apparently deserted, landscapes not visible, but insistently visible, landscapes immersed in the fog where there is not a living soul to be seen but thousands of presences are heard. What we don’t see is always more important than what we see. No place looks like that place, every place is that place.
editor's note
Our aim is to disseminate and bring to light telling work of emergent or young photographers.