SILVIA DE GIORGI

LIQUID LANDSCAPES

Silvia’s photography is concerned with the impermanence and changeability of the natural surrounding. The ephemeral aspect of the landscape is accentuated in this series by experimenting with expired photographic papers. The project is printed almost exclusively on paper from the 6o-ies and 70-ies. The prints characterized by faded areas and unpredicted colourations and distortions in the developing process.

Importantly affected by light, even after processing, the resulting images might degrade and slowly change appearance over time.

The transitory aspect of landscapes is emphasized throughout the series by the use of alternative photographic processes and expired photographic paper. Images printed on aged paper are characterised by faded areas, spots, and unpredicted colourations. prints are often affected by light, even after processing, resulting in images with low contrasts that might degrade and change appearance over time. the title of the project refers to the ‘fluidity’ of the natural environment and to the water, chemicals and elements affecting geographical formations. this is reflected in the working process, as many images in this series are printed on etching paper, that has been previously coated with liquid photographic emulsion.

Our natural environment is rapidly changing in the face of climatic change. as a result, the land is quickly shifting and receding. these works are part of a wider photographic research that explores the impermanence of the natural surrounding and the fragility of our own presence in the land.

Images of weathered natural formations are juxtaposed with traces of ancient human interventions in the landscape, such as neolithic monuments and prehistoric artefacts. like rocks, cliffs, and mountains these earliest signs of human existence in the land are slowly washed away by time and, arguably, by our own present actions.

 LANDSCAPE PIECES

Working in the darkroom represents a tactile way to re-connect to the places Silvia records on her walks and journeys. it is a direct, manual process that brings back the sense of being in a particular environment –

the sounds,

the smells,

the rain and cold.

The objects are enlarged and removed from their context in the photographs. they become abstract landscapes themselves or assume ritual, totem-like qualities.

Landscape pieces is a series strongly related to the liquid landscapes series. It reflects on the same theme: the land envisioned as a space of transition and change. however, the visual content of this body of work focuses on small objects collected from visited locations rather than depicting the sites themselves.