1. The Photographer
2. The Exhibition
3. The Location
4. The Project


THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Photography has always been an art that has fascinated me, since I was given my first camera at eight years old. The snapshots that followed – moments of life, portraits, landscapes – were nothing but my first attempts that I would subsequently pursue in greater depth. In 2001, my collaboration with the organization of the photographic event “FoianoFotografia,” held annually in the town of its namesake in the province of Arezzo (Italy), changed my relationship with the photographic image. The acquaintance and association of one photographer in particular, Maurizio Galimberti, have been fundamental, whether directly or indirectly, in making me observe how photography, the figurative art queen of the contemporary era, is a new method of freezing images and time, in the past the prerogative of painting and sculpture, possessing the same soul as these other art forms: composition.
His teachings were not limited to photography in and of itself but extended to observing, perceiving, and gathering objects and situations in a balance of images and colors that at times could have seemed banal, but were in reality profound and full of poetry.
Galimberti’s innovative and undoubtedly successful choice was that of using a Polaroid camera, a means whose results, the fruit of instantaneousness, are unique works of art like paintings, while the essence of his works is transmitted to them in dynamic and unforeseeable artistic interventions, such as in Futurism and Dadaism.
His mosaics are compositions that are absolutely balanced in their dynamic aspect, and the interventions, apparently destructive with regard to the photographs, give each work character and originality. From this method of photographing and composing, and in particular from the idea of the mosaic, I began to designate square portions of photographs, cut them, and recompose them around the central image, giving a dynamic and kaleidoscopic sensation, even to apparently static subjects; research into a world made up of visions both repetitive and in movement, taking their origin from the ways of life of contemporary society.
Portraits of animals, still lifes, and shots dedicated to icons of our time are the subjects of my photography, compositions in which color and light often play predominant roles.
Paolo Porcu Rodriguez


THE EXHIBITION

The work is composed of two parts:

1. The first is made up of “fragments” – details or parts of the Vespa, which is never shown in its entirety. These fragments are taken not only from well-kept restored models; there are also images of Vespas used for work, thus at times run-down and shabby, yet still fascinating, unique, and even amusing.

2. In the second part, using a technique of cutting and recomposing portions of the digital image, the artist obtains dynamic and kaleidoscopic “visions”, in which the Vespa, in part due to its forms, in part due to its colors, has proven to be a good subject. Each composition is constituted of multiple photographs, each measuring 3.5 inches square.



THE LOCATION

The choice is made searching for locations that are meeting points for lovers of classic two-wheelers and in particular the Vespa, that allow the possibility of holding an exhibition, and that have a pleasing atmosphere. However, we wouldn't exclude art galleries, photography festivals, or other festivals with the Vespa as their focus.

THE PROJECT

This exposition is part of a project that will begin in Nakhon Si Thammarat not only due to the presence of Vespa-lovers but also in order to create an attraction in an area that has very few external cultural events.
Afterwards it will move to Bangkok and to Chiang Mai with new works. After this the collection will be further increased in order to be shown in 2006 in Italy, at the international photography festival “FoianoFotografia”, which is held every year in Foiano della Chiana (Arezzo), Italy, between June and July.
This is the established program, which we are certain to complete, but we would not exclude other possible locations, either before or after June 2006.
The photographer will be happy to consider any proposal that he is offered, wherever, given the popularity of the Vespa.