MASSIMO VITALI: NEW WORK
2011-11-21Vitali has become one of the most celebrated contemporary photographers worldwide, renowned for his large colour prints depicting the crowded beaches and shorelines of the Mediterranean Sea. However, this new series focuses on the natural – rocks, cliffs, waterfalls, caves and quarries. Holidaymakers have been reduced to mere dots, hovering uncomfortably on the shore, or taking shelter in the shadow of monumental natural landmarks. Seen from such a distance, these crowds mimic colonies of mammals – huddles of seals or penguins – washed up on the rocks. The power of nature comes to the fore – in one image people are literally replaced by crashing waves as the tide moves in. Everything is now in flux and the old certainties have been washed away. Our frailty in the face of such power is thrown into focus and we are forced to confront our mortality and our inability to resist the forces of nature.
Vitali started his series of large format photographs at a specific moment in Italian history: 1994, the year in which Berlusconi came to power. He has said of this moment, “I wanted to look into the faces of the people that voted for Berlusconi and see if I could understand why. My photography comes from absolute matter-of-fact situations, but also from a deep curiosity that I possess for people, for what they do and how they think.” For Vitali, the beach was a place where the mundane and everyday merges with natural beauty, and where he could confront Italians in a place of vulnerability.
Opposite – Sarakiniko, Greece, 2011
Exhibition runs through to January 28th, 2012
Brancolini Grimaldi
43 – 44 Albemarle Street
London
W1S 4JJ
