With this showcase we look at the series 'Lanzarote' by Giovanna Petrocchi - a constructed world encouraging reflections on the meaning of landscape.
With this body of work I intend to document my experience and visionary interpretation of the island of Lanzarote and its unique landscape. In Lanzarote, I create a visual world to encourage the viewer to reflect on how landscape is, or should be, understood today. By combining personal photographs of the island with handmade collages, digitally manipulated images and archival photography, I embark on an intimate investigation of nature while acknowledging that, since the proliferation of digital technology, the way in which nature is perceived and represented has dramatically changed over the past few years.
What we are seeing appears to be pure nature, with no trace of man whatsoever. Yet these images are entirely artificial, a man-made reverie of “nature.”
The act of recycling a landscape into another one gives me the illusion of creating a brand-new scenario, exempt from human experience. In depicting this undiscovered place, beyond space and time, my use of different techniques is fundamental in order to translate a feeling of in-betweenness into the photographic process. The juxtaposition of traditional, handmade collage with more complex, digitalized interventions places the artistic process in limbo (much in the same way my enigmatic nature is positioned right now, in an uncertain historical and geological context).
In this constructed world, the animal-shaped sculptures represent the only inhabitants of Lanzarote. These creatures, made of the same matter as the earth, are antique, noble and poor at the same time. They are also ancient and new, almost platonic concepts of future animals. Despite being made thousands of years ago, each sculpture is incredibly modern in shape. Their stylized silhouettes can be compared to contemporary representations of animals. Ultimately, their unusual features offer a contrast with the melancholy and desolation provoked by each of the landscapes.
Giovanna Petrocchi (b. 1988) is an italian photographer based in London. She graduated from the London College of Communication with a BA in Photography and she is currently studying for an MA in Visual Arts at Camberwell College of Arts, London. She has recently been selected as a winner in the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2017.
By combining personal photographs with hand-made collages and found images, Giovanna creates imaginary landscapes inspired both by modernist paintings and virtual realities. A recurrent feature of her work is the juxtaposition of futuristic and primordial scenarios and the combination of digital and analogue processes. Approaching image making in a playful and experimental way, her practice constantly looks for ways to blur the boundaries between photography and other mediums. The relationship between nature and art, human and animal constitutes the basis of her research. Recent shows include: ‘Zone of Proximity’ (solo show) at the MMX gallery, London; Flash Forward 2016, Magenta Foundation, Toronto; Lychee One Gallery,London; White Conduit Projects, London.
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