Exhibition curated by Elio Grazioli and Walter Guadagnini
Works by Darren Almond, Enrico Bedolo, Ricardo Cases, Pierluigi Fresia, Stephen Gill, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster e Ange Leccia, Mishka Henner, Amedeo Martegani, Richard Mosse, Thomas Ruff, Batia Suter, Carlo Valsecchi, Helmut Völter

The approach chosen for the No Man Nature exhibit is to explore the topics of ‘nature without man’ and ‘man without nature’, suggesting a heuristic reflection flowing from two opposite extremes. These extremes no longer mean just the unexplored, the unknown, the invisible and the unimaginable, but actually imply the possibility of a world no longer inhabited by man and, at the opposite end, of man’s invention of a world no longer inhabited by nature. These possibilities can in turn be perceived as dangers: on the one hand, there is the ecological danger of the destruction of nature and the self-destruction of the human species, and on the other, there is the danger of a “technological” euphoria with the attendant isolation of the human being from the world.   And again: sometimes we yearn to live in an unspoilt and deserted natural environment, like a dream of an impossible new beginning, while at the same time we are building a world modelled entirely on the virtual and the imaginary, including a natural world that is equally virtual and imaginary.

Finally, we might argue that if things are, or are going, that way, then there must be a reason for it. Hence, our reflection on extreme cases will also be an inquiry into ‘where we are at’. The exhibit uses images in order to raise these questions, putting forward examples that will urge viewers to ask themselves what their own position is with regard to these questions.

The general idea is always to use photography not as a document and a representation in itself, but as an opportunity in terms of the questions it elicits and its thought-provoking power. The issues raised about the man-nature relationship thus also become a metaphor of the role and function of photography.

Enrico Bedolo was born in Soncino (Cremona) in 1975. After his technical studies and having worked on various projects with an architectural practice, he started focussing more and more specifically on photography.

His artistic explorations investigate the various aspects of the contemporary landscape through the use of analogue and digital techniques, at the same time experimenting with the photographic language itself.

He has undertaken various projects, including: Alfabeto delle Pianure (Alphabet of the plains), a lyrical inventory of the architectural features in the landscape of the Po River Plains, and Life in File, a study on “virtual urban planning” and on the boundaries between reality and fiction.

His works have been shown in various solo and group exhibits in Italy and internationally, and feature in a number of publications including: Le cose e il paesaggio (Things and the landscape), a+mbookstore Edizioni, Milan 2011, Carlo Scarpa: uno sguardo contemporaneo (Carlo Scarpa: a contemporary perspective), Marsilio Editori, Venice 2012 and Geografie, storie, paesaggi per un’Italia da cambiare (Geographies, stories and landscapes for an Italy in need of change), Aracne Edizioni, Rome 2013.

He has worked on commissioned projects in connection with studies of the local area, and some of his photographs are held in the collections of the Fototeca Carlo Scarpa (photo library) in Treviso.

Saturday, May 16

11am_Teatro Cavallerizza

CONFERENCES

No Man Nature: Diane Dufour, Elio Grazioli and Walter Guadagnini with Enrico Bedolo, Pierluigi Fresia, Mishka Henner, Carlo Valsecchi, Helmut Völter. Book signing to follow

2pm_Palazzo da Mosto

ASK THE ARTIST

No Man Nature: Enrico Bedolo, Pierluigi Fresia, Mishka Henner, Carlo Valsecchi, Helmut Völter and curators answer at questions by public