Alessandra Calò, Fotoscopia
curated by Irene Russo
Fifty years since its construction, Santa Maria Nuova Hospital has decided to undergo a photographic examination in order to bring to light some fragments of history. Alessandra Calò’s “photoscopic” images, taken with the aid of iPhoneography and printed on glass using old-fashioned methods, are not mere representations of reality subject to the limitations of digital distance. Instead, they go back in time and recapture that soothing feeling of touch – the warmth of a skilful technique like that of a doctor who understands immediately on touching the patient.
The hospital is a body made up of innumerable lives, stories of men and women on the frontline or who have always worked behind the scenes. What emerges is a grandiose project born in the Fifties whose pillars mirror the harmony of the human skeleton. The glass plates tell of the growing ability to scrutinize the most unfathomably microscopic space. The stunning beauty of the diagnostic methods shines through the displays, celebrating the achievements of human ingenuity and the exploratory drive of Santa Maria Hospital.
Now temporarily on special display at the Galleria Parmeggiani, the hospital will be showing ‘its insides’ through photography. A piece of history is being preserved in ‘glass containers’ so that it may last in time and be available for viewing by the community.
