Teresa EmanueleImages from “QUOD VIDES, TOTVM (All That Is Seen)” exhibition by Italian Photographer Teresa Emanuele Roberta Fedele Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — Organized by the BMG Foundation in cooperation with the Consulate General of Italy, the second edition of the “Diplomacy of Art Exhibition” displays between March 5 and 14 at the Italian Cultural Center, an elegant and sophisticated body of work entitled “QUOD VIDES, TOTVM (All That Is Seen)” by Italian photographer Teresa Emanuele. Influenced by the thought of Latin philosopher Seneca the Younger (4 BC - 64 AD) and fascinated by nature's capacity to express the wonders of creation, Emanuele presents her subtle metaphors and philosophy of life through monochromatic images of natural landscapes printed on acrylic glass and characterized by a powerful three-dimensional quality. “Emanuele's images are more than just beautiful examples of the world around us, they are vital reminders of philosophical thought. These visions of nature address fundamental concerns such as our place in the world, the passage of time and the existence of a higher power as a key to self-awareness and a means to find that ever-elusive sense of contentment,” said the exhibition's curator Dalya Islam. Saudi Gazette met the artist who revealed in an exclusive interview some of the most significant moments of her life and career, her curiosity toward the Islamic perception of nature and her opinion on the significance of art, the apparent incompatibility between science and religion and the responsibility of Italian artists in front of their outstanding cultural heritage. Saudi Gazette: You are a young and gifted Italian photographer who held solo exhibitions in Rome and Venice, including the 54th Biennale, and had the chance to participate in various photography festivals around the world. Is this your first time in the Middle East? How does it feel to represent your country in Saudi Arabia, a land that is considered the heart of the Muslim world? Emanuele: This is indeed my first time in the Middle East. Since I was a child I was attracted to far-away countries, different cultures and religions. Traveling was always my dream and the deepest source of inspiration. Now that my photography is bringing me around the world the dream exceeded any expectations. It is an honor to be representing my country in Saudi Arabia. I feel toward the Middle East countries a mix of curiosity and reverence. Even if I have not been here before, I feel the strength of the religious and cultural heritage that is cherished in these countries. Also, being Italian, I feel a deep responsibility toward my country that boasts centuries of great artists, musicians and intellectuals. Therefore, the chance I was given by the BMG Foundation and the Italian Consul General represents for me an exciting and challenging opportunity. Saudi Gazette: You are an ex-lawyer who reached the Venice Biennale after Wall Street. Why did you choose a completely different career path and what attracted you toward photography? Emanuele: Some things only happen for a reason. After years of study I was just starting to enjoy my achievements as a lawyer, my Wall Street office and all the benefits that derive from such a position when the crisis hit the market and the world of leverage finance collapsed. All of a sudden my job became unattractive and tedious and I often found myself looking out of the window and dreaming of being out there with my camera. I struggled in deciding whether to follow my heart or stick to what I had invested so much time and energy in, until finally my heart won. So here I am today. Saudi Gazette: Can you mention some of the most relevant moments in your artistic career? Emanuele: I remember the excitement of my first exhibition. Until then I had only seen my photos on a computer screen. Flattered by compliments of family and friends, I decided to give it a try. When I saw my works printed and mounted for the first time (photographic paper on wood at that time) I was so pleased with the result that I decided it would be the first exhibition of many. I will never forget my first plexi-print either. I was at the printing lab trying to find a way to avoid the flatness of an aluminum print when someone from the staff walked by holding a plexiglass board. I remember asking: “Is there a way we can print on this?” While the board was being printed, I started daydreaming about the shadows that the image would have cast. Shortly after I came up with the idea of having the shadows “breathe” and produced my first shadow box “Senza Ombra di Dubbio” (Without the Shadow of a Doubt) in 2011 for the 54th Venice Biennale. Saudi Gazette: The title of the exhibition that you are presenting in Jeddah, QVOD VIDES, TOTVM (All That Is Seen) is drawn from the writings of Seneca the Younger, a major Stoic philosopher that particularly fascinates you. How did you develop this interest and why did you choose this title? Emanuele: My school education focused on classics, the major subjects of my course being Latin and ancient Greek. As a teenager I read and translated most Latin philosophers. These studies inevitably influenced my choice. While thinking of a title that would enclose my idea of Nature, its supremacy on mankind and my reverence toward it, I was brought back to Seneca's Naturales Quaestiones, where he invites the reader to wonder who is God. His pagan conclusion is so enlightening, so contemporary, so universal that I though it would be suitable for this body of work: “Quid est Deus? – Seneca wonders – Quod vides, totum, et quod non vides, totum” (“Who is God? All that is seen, and all that is not seen). For sure my camera cannot capture what is not seen, but I am given the chance, with my medium, to humbly portray the majesty of what our eyes are offered as evidence of the Divine. God is, Seneca says, inside, within and outside everything we are given the chance to see. Saudi Gazette: Through your artworks, you clearly show a deep devotion and respect for nature. How did you mature this form of reverence? Emanuele: The reverence toward nature was innate and outgrew after I started my career as a photographer. I was always in search for new subjects and the more I looked around the more I was persuaded by the fact that nothing like nature expresses the wonders of creation. There was nothing I wished to frame more than the undeniable perfection of nature. Trees in particular overwhelm me with the power of their statics, the faithfulness of their growth and their constant aim, the sun. Saudi Gazette: You came to exhibit in Jeddah, a city that is very close to Makkah, the heart of the Muslim world. Have you done any research on the Islamic tradition before coming here and have you found any inspiration in it? Emanuele: Indeed I have. Right after meeting Dalya Islam, curator of the exhibition, I started investigating the Islamic perception of nature. To my surprise I found many verses of the Qu'ran that describe nature as evidence of God's existence. The wonder of this perception is that it is common to all religions and, unlike many unintelligible dogmas, it is a concept available to everyone. The Qu'ran also confers an important role to prostrating shadows that are indeed the secret key players of all my most recent works. “And unto Allâh (Alone) falls in prostration whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and in the afternoons.” (13:15) Saudi Gazette: Various philosophical and symbolical meanings lay behind your artworks and your focus on nature. Is your artistic work part of a personal spiritual research and tentative to catch the essential nature of all things? Emanuele: During my hectic life I have always tried to stop and think, pause. Photography has become my therapy for portraying nature implies pausing with it, still, static. Enter its endless rhythm of steadiness and capture it, unseen. When I click the shutter I am given a fraction of happiness and accomplishment and a moment of understanding and peace. Saudi Gazette: Seneca's philosophy is based on a unitary vision of the universe and on the importance of living the present moment as a key to self-awareness. This vision is very close to the teachings of Eastern philosophies and the discoveries of the modern quantum physicists. Do you agree with those who see compatibility between spirituality and science? Emanuele: Awareness, I believe, is the key to achievement. All we have, all that we are given, is nothing more than “all that is seen”, today, at this very moment. Being aware and grateful is essential for capitalizing (both spiritually and factually) and looking forward with ambition. This lesson, which I learnt from the classics, is common to other creeds like Buddhism. I find it amazing that such conception is so widespread between cultures that are so far apart in time and space. The compatibility of science and spirituality, which is said to be possible by renown Italian scientist Antonino Zichichi, who I had the pleasure of meeting in person, remains unclear to me and fascinates me like only dilemmas do. Saudi Gazette: Science and religion describe the world through languages that are apparently not compatible. Do you think that the artistic language can conciliate these opposites? Emanuele: I am not sure art can give such answers, but I believe art has the mission of having people question. Emotions and thoughts that derive from the study of art should be an input for thorough thinking. Artists are given the chance to tickle people's minds, to cause an emotion, to open a closed door. Whenever I visit a Museum I enter a new dimension of colors, shapes, silence. I am surrounded by people maybe, and yet alone with the artist(s), someone maybe I know nothing about but who is there telling me something. It is an imaginary dialogue I aim to have with the people who will look at my work. Saudi Gazette: You are presenting a body of 26 works of art including two kinetic installations and a video work, entitled AQVA IN OBSCVRITATE, especially created for the exhibition in Jeddah. Can you tell us what is this video about and what inspired you to make it? Emanuele: The video installation entitled “AQVA IN OBSCVRITATE” is my very first official video work. It was Dalya Islam who suggested I should investigate new media and I thank her for doing so. I was thrilled by the idea and found it very challenging to capture a moving sequence of meaningful moments rather than static images. I recently finished the editing and, interestingly enough, only when I watched the entire video on a big screen for the first time, I found out it is pretty much about me. I was not planning on such an intimate self-portrait. I was surprised to see how, within three minutes, the eclectic range of my visionary world flew before my eyes as if I was being told about who I am by someone else. Saudi Gazette: Can you mention and describe some of the works within this exhibition that hold a particular significance for you? Emanuele: It is hard to say for I am used to conceive an exhibition as a whole. After Dalya and I met in Venice for the finissage of my exhibition “Ecfrasi,” she suggested I should bring forward my research of nature. She made me notice that trees and water are available in abundance in Europe but they are rare and mostly unseen in the Middle East. This is why not only I focused on nature, but I tried to frame it within Italian scenarios. I liked the idea of sharing not all that is seen but all that I see. The series of smaller prints is a story told within the ancient walls of the eternal city, a few minutes walk away from where I live. This not only gave value to the images, but also different meaning to the places I drive by daily. On the other hand, the two largest prints are those that best portray the sense of loss and reverence I feel when I am alone in the woods. Saudi Gazette: Can you tell us something about your creative process and artistic technique? Emanuele: The creative process, just like post production, is pretty much solitary. I like to be alone and in silence and discover the woods without a real destination, just by following the light. Within hundreds of trees, some of them seem to be there posing for me. I see their vanity and please it. Depending on the mood and the light, sometimes I sit before them, some others I lean on them and look up. It's a fleeting moment between nature and me. The post-production is limited to enhancing whites in order to maintain transparency on the plexi-glass prints. Only absolute white will remain transparent and allow the image's shadows to play their role. Prints are made with a sophisticated printer called “Durst,” an Italian brand that stood out for its dark room magnifiers and that today also pleases digital photographers. Intrigued by the challenge of wanting to be remembered within others at the 54th Venice Biennale, I decided I would bring my research forward and re-create the feeling of an experienced moment captured one early morning on the High Atlas, in Morocco. That day the wind was blowing, caressing away the snow off the foliage of a beautiful tree. I framed the plexiprint and hid miniature fans within the frame. I stretched a white silk curtain on the back of the frame and let the fans breathe a soft wind on it. As a result, the shadow of the tree cast by the plexiprint was gently moving, bringing me back to that cold morning on the Atlas. This is how the first shadow-box was born. A moving photograph, the oxymoron I was looking for. Saudi Gazette: What is your personal definition of Art? Do you think that art carries a social responsibility? Emanuele: You are asking this question at a very particular time of Italian history. Now that my country has no government, no spiritual guidance and no apparent solution to the crisis that hit us I think art has the duty of keeping the country's pride high. Italy has a history of superb masters of art and young Italian artists should always bear that in mind. We are the living heritage of what came before us and made Italy the great country it always was and still is. Saudi Gazette: Are you working on any new project? What other kinds of themes and/or techniques would you like to explore in the future? Emanuele: My very next show will be in Riyadh next month. After having explored the woods so deeply for “QVOD VIDES, TOTVM,” I think I will shoot something more urban. My next exhibition destinations will be Paris and New York. Although I like showing in Italy, bringing my work abroad and facing a whole new public is what challenges me the most. I am planning on investigating new ways of moving projected shadows, using LEDs and visual effects.
