Exhibition | Lorena Articardi

Paula / Luminous Bodies, 01, from the series Of Sunburns and Sunspots.

Of Sunburns and Sunspots, MoA 23 [2022–2023]

20232023Posted in 120 mm, 35 mm, Exhibition, Exhibitions, Research and Publications, Photography by Elle A

(Notebook Entry.). ‘Even the brightest of stars bears dark spots –wears them as scars. All surfaces have an inscribed memory; and yet, we’re squinting. The ground, its sharpness, the burn. The kiss, your touch, the burn. The sun, the tan, the burn. The salt will help you heal, it’ll wash the sand off your skin.’.

Light is inherently restless and, as a light impression, thus is photography. I’m drawn to imagery that isn’t burdened with visual conventions. I look for sunspots –for brutal honesty and deliberate imperfections; for an intentional prevalence of a rough see-through quality.

At odds with the praised fraction of a second, my sight is rather fragmentary. Purposely flawed, constantly dissonant. Even the brightest of stars bears dark spots –wears them as scars. All surfaces have an inscribed memory, and yet we’re squinting.

‘(…) the force of photographic images comes from their being material realities in their own rights, richly informative deposits left in the wake of whatever emitted them, potent means for turning tables on reality –for turning it into a shadow.’. –Sontag, S. On Photography, 1977.