Nature failure is inevitable,
we can only face it.
‘Are They Rocks or Clouds?’ addresses the history of hydrogeological events in the Dolomite mountains and, more broadly, how our cultural memories of such incidents are shaped. The work explores how human habitation persists in locations that have established patterns of landslides, floods, and other such possible catastrophes and therefore comprises a blend of research and archival images, texts, and recent photographs woven together to address the themes of Destruction, Protection, Experience, Representation and Resilience in areas with centuries-long cycles of human vulnerability in the face of natural disasters. ‘Are They Rocks or Clouds?’ balances information, history and visual pleasure as the reader is asked to confront the risks we take, as humans, in our effort to live comfortably while also pushing the limits of how we interact with the natural world.
- Lesley A. Martin, The Dummy Photobook Prize, Cortona On The Move, 2018
The project started researching a catastrophe which might happen in the future and that, according to geological studies and the theory of return periods, will happen in 50 years from now. The event that is supposed to happen again in the future is the one occurred in 1966. The estimated damages will be 2 or 3 times higher. The images rhythm is determined by keywords as the mountain as metaphor is poetry while the mountain recognized as a real source of danger alludes to the documentary, for which evidence is to be mounted to account for the monitoring of its moving, or testimonies to be gathered after an accident or a catastrophe. - Taco Hidde Bakker, Are They Documents or Poems?
Are They Rocks or Clouds? is a multifaceted series of photographs that benefits from the indeterminacy that, on the one hand, underpins poetry and, on the other, is the boundary of science, all without succumbing to the ambiguity of the one or the presumption of the other, because, to cite the science historian D. Graham Burnett, “conclusions should, as a rule, be treated with suspicion. - Raffaele Vertaldi, Domus 1034
‘Are They Rocks or Clouds?’ is published by Fw:Books and OTM.
The photobook blends images and text; are included three essays and a Coda.
Essays:
Taco Hidde Bakker (Writer and curator), Are They Documents or Poems?
Emiliano Oddone (Geologist), The Gravity of Beauty
Annibale Salsa (Anthropologist), The Knowledge Defect
Selected writings:
ASX American Suburb X - Essay by Eugenie Shinkle & Sunil Shah
GUP Magazine - Book review by Tim van Dijk
Il Post, Sono rocce o nuvole? - Article by Alessia Mutti
Vogue - Interview by Chiara Bardelli Nonino
Exhibitions:
Are They Rocks or Clouds?, solo show, curated by Alessandro Dandini de Sylva (Bucharest, ro, 2023)
Earthlings, Atelier Néerlandais, curated by Jenny Smets (Paris, fr, 2021)
Not only history, but our memories, curated by Carlo Sala, Podbielski Contemporary (Milan, it, 2020)
Sguardo Lucido, Fotohof, curated by Andrew Phelps and Herman Seidl (Salzburg, at, 2019)
Are They Rocks or Clouds?, Cortona On The Move, curated by Arianna Rinaldo (Cortona, it, 2019)
F4 Fondazione Francesco Fabbri, curated by Carlo Sala (it, 2019)
Looking On – MAR Ravenna, curated by Giulia Ticozzi and Osservatorio Fotografico (it, 2019)
Emerging Talents, Mattatio, Roma, curated by Arianna Catania and Sarah Carlet (it, 2018-2019)
Giovane Fotografia Italiana, Fotografia Europea Reggio Emilia, curated by Daniele De Luigi (it,2018)
Awards:
Premio Graziadei VII Edition, Special Mention, (2020, it)
Prix du Livre, Rencontres d’Arles Book Awards, Finalist (2020, fr)
Premio Marco Bastianelli (2020, it)
Cortona On The Move Book Dummy Award (2018)
Premio Giovane Fotografia Italiana, FOTOGRAFIA EUROPEA – Reggio Emilia (2018, it)
Unseen Dummy Award 2017 e La Fàbrica – Photo London Book Dummy Award, Shortlisted (2018, es-uk)
