Massimiliano Camellini
"Al di là dell’acqua"

Curated by Andrea Tinterri, art critic and director of the group BAG GALLERY
Staging by Nicola Pinazzi, architect and team's partner

Exhibition: 7 July – 7 September 2017
Opening reception: Thursday, 6 July, 6 pm

Massimiliano Camellini
"Al di là dell’acqua"

"Al di là dell’acqua" presents 14 artworks by the photographer Massimiliano Camellini. The exhibition is the result of a long-standing photographic project that took place over a period of four years and which examined the interiors of a large number of cargo ships belonging to the companies of various nations. Informed by the literary influences of Novecento by Alessandro Baricco, Camellini’s photographs depict the work and relaxation areas of these small worlds that live mostly on the oceans, far from land and its laws. The project identifies - through objects, symbols and mementoes - the attempt to reconstruct a lost daily life, a semblance of stability amidst constant movement. Camellini’s subjects are the work areas and their objects, but also, and primarily, the private areas such as; cabins, beds flanked by side tables full of memories, tables set for a new meal, and corridors that divide the relaxation periods of these temporary inhabitants. In this labyrinth of rooms, we glimpse a porthole or window, nonetheless as if through a haze, given it has deliberately been photographed against strong backlight and so it becomes impossible to understand the geographical location of the ship. Camellini intentionally separated the interior of the vessel from the outside: two incongruent and oft-irreconcilable spaces. The photographer is fascinated here by the ongoings within this world, how these spaces are organised, the adaptation to new laws and the reconstruction of a personal "shell" in which to live. People are absent in all of the images but are represented by the spaces and the objects themselves, which await their owners, in a momentary state of suspension.

The spaces of the Museoteatro della Commenda di San Giovanni di Prè, which is hosting the exhibition, look out across the old port of Genoa and create an ideal sense of continuity between the images from the project and the reality of the work; the hulks of the cargo ships and the sailors who are its’ subjects. An obligatory port of call in a city such as Genoa, which represents the significance of the changes that take place in this merchant navy profession, in the work of sailors, and at the crossroads of trade and commerce. The work is a dialogue between photography and reality, in a synergy where the confines between the two become ephemeral and deliberately ambiguous.

The exhibition is accompanied by a large-format publication, in English and Italian, "Al di là dell’acqua", presented as a logbook and published by Greta’s Books. In addition to the photographs from the entire project, it also includes a critical introduction by the exhibition curator, Andrea Tinterri, a piece by the anthropologist Fabio Dei from the University of Pisa, and a never-before published story by the writer Donatello Bellomo. The publication is an editorial journey that clarifies the complexity of a wide-ranging project of multi-disciplinary interest.

The exhibition is a collaboration between BAG GALLERY (Parma – Pesaro) and the Mu.MA – the Museum of the Sea and Migration, the Association Promotori Musei del Mare e della Navigazione, and the Cooperativa Solidarietà & Lavoro, Doc SAI – Photographic Archive of Municipality of Genoa and with the generous support of the Region of Liguria, the Municipality of Genoa, the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, the Zeitgeist Group Association, the Italian Chapter of the Royal Photographic Society and the Laboratory of Maritime and Naval History - DAFIST (Department of Antiquity, Philosophy and History) at the University of Genoa.

During the exhibition there will be two collateral events:

Thursday 13 July, 6 pm
Presentation of the publication "Al di là dell’acqua" with the photographer Massimiliano Camellini, Professor Fabio Dei, an anthropologist from the University of Pisa, and the exhibition curator Andrea Tinterri

Wednesday 7 September, 6 pm
Conference on the theme "The sea people between past and future" with the participation of Professor Luca Lo Basso, Director of the Workshop of Maritime and Naval History - DAFIST (Department of Antiquity, Philosophy and History) at the University of Genoa.

MASSIMILIANO CAMELLINI (Venice, 1964). During the 90s he worked across documentary photography. Since 2001 he has developed a series of works dedicated to universal themes; the first series dedicated to the instincts and dreams of mankind: this cycle includes the works Oltre le Gabbie (2001), I Volanti (2004), Duel (2006), New Arenas (2009), Laboratory Obsession (2010), 6 pm, the working time is over (2012), and the final, Al di là dell'acqua (2016). The second series, fragments in time: investigates contemporary age in relation to time-space signals as an anthropological survey on the evolution of the urban environment: Tram-Frame is the first work of this cycle. His artworks are included in the permanent collections of international museums. He has exhibited throughout Europe and The Far East. He lives and works between Reggio Emilia and Milano.
More information: www.massimilianocamellini.org

BAG GALLERY was born in 2013, with a founding location in Pesaro and following on with a new venue in the city of Parma (Italy). The stylistic research is focussed on contemporary art and particularly towards photography. In addition to a curated exhibition programme across the venues, the staff of BAG GALLERY cooperates regularly with public and private institutions, both in Italy and abroad, in order to increase the value and prestige of its represented artists. Such operations are also linked to high-level editorial projects. All these activities are regularly associated with fairs such as MIA Photo Fair in Milan (Italy) and Wopart in Lugano (Switzerland). BAG GALLERY has already become a reference for art lovers in the contemporary art environment, among them well-known collectors.
More information: www.bag-gallery.com