The Thought of Angela Tecce
Creating Unseen Worlds
Photography deserves credit for its ability to invent places, moments, and events that have no direct reference to our lives. Indeed, these images do not merely simulate reality. Instead, they create a world in which we can recognize ourselves even without possessing it. This fascinating process ultimately amplifies our ability to look beyond and through the visible.
Beyond Objective Truth
This artistic realm includes images that do not claim to represent an objective truth. On the contrary, they leave room for an inquiring mind and an emotional distrust. This approach dampens the “informative” weight of the image to highlight the questioning and partial nature of the work.
Daily, we are overwhelmed by photographs that aim to describe a moment of joy or an enchanted landscape “better than words.” Yet, it is words alone that make us aware of our motivations—what moves us when we capture or choose an image. Behind the lens, there is no real objectivity; rather, there is always and only us.
Codispoti’s Journey
The Power of the Gaze
There is a territory crossed by countless paths leading to a place that is not a place, a time that does not exist. In this space, knowledge does not arrive in stages. Instead, it appears all at once in its flagrant, timeless beauty.
Codispoti chooses one of these paths to speak of himself. Specifically, he explains the meaning of his “pause” to shoot. By doing so, he reminds us that photography requires immobility—a sudden suspension of our existence that finds its center in the power of the gaze.
A Story of Roots and Sea
From his work emerges a “South further north,” which remains as such in the author’s consciousness. Through his lens, he tells of his desire to trace back through the years that brought him from Calabria to Campania. His is a story told by renouncing official History.
Consequently, the shots show the sea in various forms: a river mouth, an arid beach left to sheep, or waves crashing against cliffs. These sparse elements effectively testify to his need to explain what he still carries from his homeland.
The Eternity of the Moment
A Timeless Universe
The number of images—twelve, a celestial number par excellence—places Codispoti’s research within a universe where time does not matter. His gaze captures moments that could easily belong to distant epochs. Furthermore, the author’s hallmark is the creation of a world where land and sea are the sole protagonists. These elements embrace and clash in a constant struggle, completely indifferent to the lives lived on that uncertain boundary.
Dissolving the Urban Landscape
To remain as such, this limit must make the city evanescent. Therefore, the camera pushes coastal lights into a fata morgana and dissolves buildings behind a veil of spray. This represents Codispoti’s photographic “present.” It is an existence that extends far beyond the daily news to become the silent witness of a rugged and austere eternity.
The Vision of Mario Codispoti
“What the photograph reproduces to infinity has occurred only once: it mechanically repeats what can never more be repeated existentially.”
— Roland Barthes
An Intimate Geography
Photographing a place can have multiple meanings. Often, it is done simply to crystallize the beauty of a moment. Looking at a photo can immediately catapult us into a reality that exists only within our souls.
This specific sentiment is found in the first photos of From South to South. The project represents an intimate journey, beginning with rural Calabrian landscapes and arriving at the vigorous Neapolitan sea.
Different States of Mind
Sea, sea, and more sea: many emotions and meanings coexist within a single image. Above all, they reflect different states of mind. Through these shots, my father attempts to convey both his love for his native land and the charm of Naples.
The difference between the two parts of this visual itinerary is clear. First, we find an intimate description of the Ionian Sea and the hidden places of a hypnotic Calabria. This is followed by a sparkling account of a stormy sea moved by an uncontrollable energy—a trait so typical of the Neapolitan people.
The Analysis of Laura Aversa
The Journey of the Soul
This sequence of shots transforms into the story of a journey toward places belonging to the soul. At the start, the lens lingers almost involuntarily on a flock of sheep on a beach. This moment of calm daily life beautifully returns the slow movement of nature in undisturbed balance.
Shifting into Motion
Gradually, the pace quickens. The almost immobile landscape gives way to scenarios in constant motion. Meanwhile, the calm sea begins to stir, and waves crash one after another.
Something has fundamentally changed. We are no longer in the dear places of childhood, and balance gives way to a growing sense of disorientation. The linear traits and soft colors of nature transform into vibrant curves and sharp hues. Finally, the slow step of the sheep dissolves into the decisive flight of a seagull. By dominating the wave, the bird restores balance to both the image and the soul.
The Conclusions of Marina Vinto
“There are facts, pieces of history, that exist only because there is a photograph that tells them.”
— Mario Calabresi
Physical and Metaphysical Narratives
From South to South is a photographic narrative that is both physical and metaphysical. In twelve shots, a private itinerary takes shape to tell the story of one who leaves their homeland. It is a restless search for the magic of southern landscapes—at times silent and primitive, at others menacing and troubling.
A Passionate Tribute
Nostalgia and restlessness run deeply through this gallery. Interestingly, the human element is almost entirely absent. Instead, a silent flock of sheep stands in a rugged nature, a lone seagull glides over wild waves, and Mount Vesuvius observes majestically from afar. Ultimately, it is a passionate tribute to Calabria, the land of belonging, and Campania, the place of arrival—a pulsating sequence of scenarios that touch the deepest chords of the soul.
