Nude & Nude

The nude is the most inflated and difficult thing in the world of photography. Nudity is now part of our life, we are in fact surrounded by naked bodies, bombarded by models, stars, and various and possible showgirls who pose without veils or in skimpy clothes, each of them with the aim of getting as many “likes” on social profiles. For this reason, the photographer who tries his hand at a nude must experiment continuously in order to obtain original results, far from the usual clichés. I have always admired the great Avedon and the unpredictable Mapplethorpe: both, albeit with diametrically opposed styles and canons, have redesigned the concept of photographic nude. In this series of shots I wanted to create a contrast between the sinuous shapes of the splendid Chiara and the harshness of the surrounding environment, an excellent backstage to capture the attention of the observer.

The subject is almost lost in the landscape, becoming an essential element, but at the same time its harmony is reunited with the beauty of nature, recomposing the initial dichotomy. It is a photographic genre that still arouses embarrassment and is a harbinger of numerous debates between those who do not like nudity, considering it rough, and those who appreciate its simplicity, judging it as a primordial and pure element of human nature. Here we want to give a different reading of the nude, without any ambition to consider ourselves the custodians of the absolute truth.

As a good Sicilian I close by quoting the writer Tomasi di Lampedusa who, in “Il Gattopardo” invites his priest friend not to be afraid of the nakedness of the body, he who is used to something much darker and more rough: the nakedness of the soul. Glam!