Venice; Timeless by Rafael Rojas

I still remember the first time I visited the floating city almost two decades ago. At that time, nothing could have prepared me for the surrealistic view of a city rising from the water.

I still remember the first time I visited the floating city almost two decades ago. At that time, nothing could have prepared me for the surrealistic view of a city rising from the water.

No matter how many photographs I had seen from Venice before, there I was frozen with a mixture of surprise and awe. My photographic interest in this city might come as a surprise to some. For some reason, I have always preferred getting lost in a forest rather than wandering around a city…

Gates of Venice_IT_VEN_031_D

Paving stones and door_IT_VEN_008_D_a Molino and factory_IT_VEN_026_C_bis_a Wings on wings_IT_VEN_018_B_c

But Venice is not just a city; it is also a visual metaphor about the dual qualities of time and space. On one hand, there is a timeless character which seems to reign over the entire place. Due to the lack of references and its uniqueness, Venice seems to be an architectural mirage that defies the conventions of reality and seems to have been there since the origins of this world. Wandering around its canals and squares, it is difficult to imagine that it was all built by man, where once natural islands nestled in the middle of the sea lagoon. On the other hand though, Venice is the perfect metaphor for the passing of time, of change, of decay, of the ephemeral  existence of a banal world anchored to reality. Rubbing shoulders with amazing palazzos and glinting cathedrals, a myriad of deliciously derelict buildings show the scars of time in their peeling facades full of character. Like a living organism, the whole city is aging… and dying. Silently, the floating city might sink in the future as the level of the sea rises.

I wanted to photograph this double nature of Venice. I was after photographs which would capture ethereal views of an empty city which seems to float in time and space. Photographs where I could show the solitude and the silence of a place where human presence is never shown, but hinted, where extraordinary elements juxtapose with the banal and anonymous subjects found in the labyrinth of alleys and squares stand proud against the indifference of the world. As Minor White would have said, I was not seeking to photograph Venice for what it is, but for what else it is: a theatre stage of squares, canals and alleys where the very duality of human existence is performed.

Dream versus reality, permanence versus decay, memory versus oblivion. I have always felt very much attracted by the notion of time, the nostalgic sentiment of seeing life passing by never to come back again. Maybe that is why I also love photography, the only medium which is able to freeze an instant of the world, saving it forever. And surely that is why I fell under the charm of Venice many years ago.

I knew from the beginning that I would use black and white film for this project. The quality and look of negative b&w film would help me convey that timeless character of Venice. Therefore, its wide latitude and non linear curve would allow me to photograph at ease during the night, in the high contrast of the dark canals lit by the lamps. I would also make the most of the reciprocity failure of film to photograph with very long exposures, erasing all moving elements, simplifying the compositions and giving the images a certain dreamlike and surrealistic look, as if the city were empty of inhabitants.

I have always loved the graphical strength of the square format, and this project became the perfect opportunity to use my Hasselblad system. No batteries, no LCD screens, no distractions. I got lost in the maze of canals, squares and hidden alleys and I quickly forgot I was using a camera. The goal was to focus on the emotional connection with the place and the moment. I opened my eyes and soul to the floating city, and the photographs came. [Official Website]
Windows_IT_VEN_035_D_a Venetian lamp_IT_VEN_002_D_b The memory of light_IT_VEN_004_D_c sospiri_IT_VEN_032_B_b Poles and palace_IT_VEN_006_A_c Lonely Rialto_IT_VEN_010_A_a Light in the canal_IT_VEN_006_A_c Lamp and Moon_IT_VEN_005_D_b Hanging cloths_IT_VEN_027_D_b for in the square_IT_VEN_036_B_b Floating_IT_VEN_033_B bis_c City tree_IT_VEN_019_D_bis_b Chairs in the square_IT_VEN_013_D_c Catching the moon_IT_VEN_025_D_c Carrillon_IT_VEN_025_C_b Archway of light_IT_VEN_036_A_b

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To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
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