The Fury of the Sarno

Photo: The Fury of Sarno
Printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Fine Art Paper, Bright White, 310gsm, 100% Cotton; opaque white frame with glass, cassette, 4.5cm deep
format 110x53.4
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If the river was once navigable and full of fish – and mentioned by poets and writers in their works – it is now known to be considered the most polluted river in Europe.
​The color of its waters is of an anomalous brown, but it can happen that various colors emerge: from red, to green, to blue, depending on what is illegally poured into it. Chromium, tetrachlorethylene, manganese, iron, chromium, cadmium, asbestos, microplastics are some of the substances detected over the years on samples taken from the river and its tributaries.

Photo: La Furia del Sarno
Printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Fine Art Paper, Bright White, 310gsm, 100% Cotton; opaque white frame with glass, cassette, 3.5 cm deep
format 43.5x25.7
I decided to undertake this photographic journey at my home, during the quarantine period due to the COVID emergency, reflecting on the fact that the tragedy of pollution is not only outside, but also inside our homes. Recounting the pollution of the Sarno River in a symbolic key, in fact, I have rediscovered an osmotic relationship between environmental and private pollution: the first, without any levees, pours into our homes, into our food, into the water we drink, with which we wash or cook.
The ten shots were made by mixing colored substances with foods such as flour, milk, coffee, trying to recreate the same colors and density that the news images of the Sarno show. I studied the river pollution data and hotspots through Google Earth, noting the coordinates.

Photo: La Furia del Sarno
Printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Fine Art Paper, Bright White, 310gsm, 100% Cotton; opaque white frame with glass, cassette, 3.5 cm deep
format 43.5x25.7
​

Installation atOpen House Milan 2022



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