In Paris, a gallery hosts an exhibition that allows viewers to take a journey through ruined Italian architecture
In a country steeped in history, not everything survives the passage of time. Thomas Jorion, a 43-year-old self-taught photographer, traveled around Italy in search of abandoned architectural landmarks. These are houses, palaces and gardens from the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries forgotten by time, but remembered by the Frenchman in his latest exhibition.
titled View — which in Italian means “view” — the exhibition is inspired by paintings from the Italian Renaissance, in particular the representation of the perspective of urban scenes. “I saw a parallel with my work based on these Italian scenes that I photographed with a large format camera”, says the artist in statements to the Público newspaper.
Thomas Jorion
Thomas' photos show the contrast between the decorative interior and the state of ruin that the buildings now present, with nature taking the place of human beings. The images, he says, have a certain “dreamy quality” as they represent the “fragility of human existence”: “They remind us that we are temporary citizens on this Earth.”
Strongly supported by the use of natural light, each photograph has its own personality. “I think I'm trying to capture an atmosphere, a tension that I see during my visits. Sometimes there is a combination of different elements: geometry, light, colors. When all these come together, I make a photograph”, explains Thomas.
Thomas Jorion
This is not Thomas Jorion's first experience photographing ruined buildings. The photographer admits that the genesis of the exhibition dates back to his childhood. “When I was a child, with friends, we explored our surroundings on bicycles looking for houses, sewers, warehouses, etc. And, later, when I was 19/20 years old, I had my first SLR [single lens reflex camera]. My second or third roll of film was dedicated to an abandoned castle I had found near my house. Thanks to that camera, I reestablished the connection with my inner pleasures and the shivers that the atmosphere and smell of that secluded space gives me. I am now documenting these spaces with a camera whereas before I was just a passive spectator.”
Thomas Jorion
If “in the beginning” he only took photographs to “record the sites before they disappeared”, as he told the portal My Modern Met, over time something changed. “Then I realized that there was a beauty, an aesthetic, that emerged with shapes, colors and lights. I don’t necessarily look for abandonment, but rather the patina of time.” Like him, other photographers have become interested in this topic, giving more and more strength to the movement bad porn (or photography of ruins), whose protagonists seek to capture ruins and abandoned buildings, in order to emphasize urban decline and human decay itself.
Thomas Jorion
View can be visited until April 6th at Esther Woerdehoff gallery in Paris, which has already hosted the photographer's previous works. The approximately 30 images on display were placed in frames without glass — an unnecessary “filter”, in the photographer’s opinion.
Nowadays, Thomas travels the world with his large format analogue camera looking for places to photograph. With around eight kilos of equipment on his back (in addition to the camera, he carries lenses and accessories), the photographer prefers to travel alone, as this means he can better focus on the work at hand, at the pace he prefers.
By Diogo A. Lopes / Public
FOLLOW-US
