Claudio Beorchia and Matteo Balduzzi. Between Heaven and Earth
6.5.2021, 9:00 PM
Lab27 is pleased to announce the tenth edition of INCONTRI DI FOTOGRAFIA, which will take place on May 6 at 9:00 PM, live online on the Lab27 YouTube channel.
Joining us are the artist Claudio Beorchia and Matteo Balduzzi, curator of the Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea (MUFOCO) in Cinisello Balsamo. We will discuss "Tra cielo e terra", a unique participatory photography project exploring the Lombard landscape. The session will reveal the motivations, methods, and outcomes of an experience that itself constitutes both a case study and a remarkable practice in the study of visual language.
Launched in spring 2019, "Tra cielo e terra" —by Claudio Beorchia (Vercelli, 1979) and conceived and curated by Matteo Balduzzi—invited all inhabitants of Lombardy to observe and photograph the landscape from the perspective of the saints who have long watched over these territories. Through the activation of nine cultural hubs that allowed comprehensive coverage of the region, more than 200 participants contributed by uploading photographs of their cities or visited sites between late May and early September on the platform developed and managed by Fondazione Rete Civica di Milano (tracieloeterra.opendcn.org).
Thanks to the 2,911 photographs collected during this participatory photography project, promoted by the Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea, the exhibition presents a varied snapshot of the contemporary landscape, ranging from urban scenes to postcard-like panoramas. The gaze—unchanged perhaps for centuries—is that of the saints residing in the votive shrines, while the scenery before them is ever-changing: some still overlook vast fields, rivers, and hills, while others now watch over roundabouts, parking lots, or construction sites.
The volume Saintscapes. Views of Lombardy, curated by Matteo Balduzzi, opens with over 200 plates that present the saints’ gaze in first-person perspective, referencing classical editions such as missals, the Touring Club Italiano guide, and dictionaries. Selected for both their aesthetic value and their representativeness of authors and geographic areas, the images form a kind of meditation on the Lombard landscape through the unexpected variety of shrine forms, creating a catalog of sorts. A selection of over 800 shrines—directly connecting the images of the saints with their gaze—is organized into ten taxonomies. The categories (…protect our valley, …pause and dream, …do not be troubled to stop for a while) were poetically derived by the artist from inscriptions found on the shrines themselves.
Further information on the project—including the exhibition, videos, maps, and essays—is available on the "Tra cielo e terra" project website.
Claudio Beorchia and Matteo Balduzzi. Between Heaven and Earth
6.5.2021, 9:00 PM
Lab27 is pleased to announce the tenth edition of INCONTRI DI FOTOGRAFIA, which will take place on May 6 at 9:00 PM, live online on the Lab27 YouTube channel.
Joining us are the artist Claudio Beorchia and Matteo Balduzzi, curator of the Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea (MUFOCO) in Cinisello Balsamo. We will discuss "Tra cielo e terra", a unique participatory photography project exploring the Lombard landscape. The session will reveal the motivations, methods, and outcomes of an experience that itself constitutes both a case study and a remarkable practice in the study of visual language.
Launched in spring 2019, "Tra cielo e terra" —by Claudio Beorchia (Vercelli, 1979) and conceived and curated by Matteo Balduzzi—invited all inhabitants of Lombardy to observe and photograph the landscape from the perspective of the saints who have long watched over these territories. Through the activation of nine cultural hubs that allowed comprehensive coverage of the region, more than 200 participants contributed by uploading photographs of their cities or visited sites between late May and early September on the platform developed and managed by Fondazione Rete Civica di Milano (tracieloeterra.opendcn.org).
Thanks to the 2,911 photographs collected during this participatory photography project, promoted by the Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea, the exhibition presents a varied snapshot of the contemporary landscape, ranging from urban scenes to postcard-like panoramas. The gaze—unchanged perhaps for centuries—is that of the saints residing in the votive shrines, while the scenery before them is ever-changing: some still overlook vast fields, rivers, and hills, while others now watch over roundabouts, parking lots, or construction sites.
The volume Saintscapes. Views of Lombardy, curated by Matteo Balduzzi, opens with over 200 plates that present the saints’ gaze in first-person perspective, referencing classical editions such as missals, the Touring Club Italiano guide, and dictionaries. Selected for both their aesthetic value and their representativeness of authors and geographic areas, the images form a kind of meditation on the Lombard landscape through the unexpected variety of shrine forms, creating a catalog of sorts. A selection of over 800 shrines—directly connecting the images of the saints with their gaze—is organized into ten taxonomies. The categories (…protect our valley, …pause and dream, …do not be troubled to stop for a while) were poetically derived by the artist from inscriptions found on the shrines themselves.
Further information on the project—including the exhibition, videos, maps, and essays—is available on the "Tra cielo e terra" project website.
