Under our eyes, a parade of solitary figures immersed in uninhabited seascapes
Black and white photography expresses an extraordinary narrative potential because, in certain circumstances, it manages to convey emotions that color images often lack. Achieving these results requires uncommon technical and interpretative skills. From this perspective, Giancarlo Ballo offers absolute guarantees, reaffirmed on the present occasion by the upcoming exhibition "Fragments of Seaside Holidays," hosted at the Turelli Gallery in Montecatini Terme from September 16th to 30th.
Portrayed people appear as shadows surrounded by a landscape that smells of vastness
One should not be too influenced by the lightheartedness suggested by the title, as our author likes to delve into details of the narrative that seem to negate or push to the background the idea or hope of a holiday that frees us from every existential worry. Indeed, the people he depicts almost always appear alone, as shadows sometimes surrounded by a land/sea landscape that smells of vastness. This can be seen, for example, in that photo, where a figure contemplates the infinite from a rock, seemingly being swallowed by it. Or the protagonist risks definitive disappearance when his trembling figure tries to blend with the looming clouds and surrounding elements, finding harmony with him. This happens in that image where the concept of solitude is emphasized with two beings turning their backs on each other along a line that simultaneously marks their separation and their horizon. Even the joy of entering the water by the protagonist of another shoot is destined to fade into a journey toward darkness, toward the unknown that will engulf her.
Another figure contemplates from a palisade that infinite, seemingly being swallowed by it
This is life stripped of all frills, of every false illusion: even when one chooses to spend moments of absolute liberation from thoughts, these may return and appear perhaps in the guise of a photographic negative or an interpretation that digs into the soul searching for those thoughts only tempered by the holiday.
Giancarlo Ballo thus reminds us once again that the shadow of life always accompanies us and can suddenly reappear in any circumstance.
Even the joy of entering in the water seems to fade into a journey toward darkness
THE LIFE
Giancarlo Ballo was born in Rovigo in 1958, where he lives and works as a forensic doctor. He “caught” photography at 18 and has never recovered since.
What drives him is the need to try to capture a feeling, an emotion, an atmosphere.
He mainly focuses on reflections, shadows, geometries, masses, and volumes. Until 2014, he used analog reflex cameras. Later, he switched to a Nikon Df, which he has supplemented for a couple of years with a Fuji XT-20. He has participated in numerous photography competitions and his images have appeared in various calendars. Important national and international photography magazines have featured his work (“Reflex,” “PC-Photo,” “Digital Photographer,” “Tutti fotografi,” “Fotografare,” “Image Mag,” “AW ArtMag,” etc.). His images have also been used for book covers, including the novels “Attesa” by Giuliano Visentin (Il Filo editions, Rome, 2007), “L’amante dell’ultimo mare” by Luciano Caprile (AW Books, Viareggio, 2022), and “Carezze di Luna” by Zank (AW Books, Viareggio, 2023). In 2009, he published his photobook “Fantasmi e sensazioni sospese” (“Ghosts and Suspended Sensations”) for Corradin Editori (Urbana – PD). He has held several solo and group exhibitions, including at the Chiostro del Bramante in Rome, at the Il Melone gallery in Rovigo, and at the Galata Museo del mare in Genoa
Giancarlo Ballo
Fragments of seaside holidays
Montecatini Terme
Galleria Turelli
From 16 until 30 September
