Blow-up
In modern urban life, we are surrounded by an always changing crowd. We constantly cross strangers, immediately loosing sight of them. Faces appear and disappear, never the same.
What’s behind the life of all those strangers? What are they thinking of, when we pass them for a brief moment? What secrets are hidden behind this multitude of faces? Such a crowd, what’s its mystery.
What’s behind the life of all those strangers? What are they thinking of, when we pass them for a brief moment? What secrets are hidden behind this multitude of faces? Such a crowd, what’s its mystery.
The blow-up series is driven by these questions and derives from a fascination of the urban chaos.
It is generally considered that photography can provide unbiased answers on this subject. However, as masterfully shown in Blow-up (1966) by Michelangelo Antonioni, it is impossible to rigorously establish what is objectively true, to separate reality from imagination.
All these photographs were taken in the streets, without framing the portrayed people, as to ensure maximum objectivity, while also questioning the voluntary component of the artistic act. Only later, the pictures have been explored to discover the faces, which -cropped and exceptionally magnified- constitute this series of portraits.
The genuine actions of all those people in the street, caught in their daily lives, should reveal the truth hidden behind every face. But it doesn’t. These photographs, due to the strong magnification, show only a blurred mask and the confusion of the photographic grain. No convincing proof, only unanswered questions.