A river runs through it

Introducing here two works by a photographer I just discovered, Arianna Arcara, from the collective CESURALAB:

PO/RIVER

"672 km long.
A catchment basin of 70,000 sq km.
From West to East in the North.
14 mouths.
Devastating Floods.
One of the most complex deltas in Europe.
More than 16 million people‚ nearly a third of all Italians‚ live in this fertile expanse, some of the most heavily cultivated land in Europe. The Po
As seen through the eyes of Cesuralab."


"'There are people who are rooted in the Po, so that even if he hits you, you turn the other cheek.'
This passion for the river is the story."



When you talk about Detroit and photography these days, there seems to be a dominant trend commonly denominated 'disaster porn', with an excess of deserted and decaying buildings, rolling over and over on the same theme. Arcaro surely gave us something different from that with Woodward Silence, a sympathetic look at the roads, the houses and the lives of the Motor City.


"Since 30 years Detroit has symbolized the American crisis, the defeat of capitalism and its ghosts, it still represents all of this. But, it's not just that. The people and the stories that prosper in that silence offer unforgettable impressions."

She also created with Luca Santese Detroit: a Self-portrait/Found Photos 2009-2010, "an informal archive of hundreds of found images from the 1980s and 1990s, made when the decline of Detroit was beginning."


"CESURALAB is a photographer’s collective aiming to create an online community for artists to share their projects. [...] At its core, the collective is bound together by a fundamental passion for photography, and through CESURALAB, participating artists will be able to join forces and work creatively and collaboratively on a variety of visual projects without the constraints of commercial pressures and compromises. Photographers in the collective routinely work closely with one another, constructing a creative cohesion that allows for skill sharing, constructive criticism and artistic growth for members. The space and equipment offered through CESURALAB also allows photographers to be independent, providing them the tools and resources to pursue individual, partner and group projects.

CESURALAB is not affiliated with other journalistic or artistic organizations. Instead it exists as its own entity, affording members the opportunity to explore, experiment and grow crea- tively, artistically and collaboratively, as both individual artists and collective members. [...]

The group uses different forms of expression to show and promote their work, including photography exhibitions, video installations and self-published publications."

All images taken from PO/RIVER and Woodward Silence © Arianna Arcara