“After that magic moment when my eyes were opened to the sea, I was no longer able to see, think, and live as before.” –Jacques-Yves Cousteau
The first time I dove I felt fear, the second time I experienced wellness, the third I was on the front line to paradise.
In the universe of the salted bubbles, Alice in Wonderland would have mistook the White Rabbit with the Mad Hatter, because down there the reality is blurred and the fantasy become the explosion of the inner feelings. Gravity exists only in the breathing while emerging, to tell the lightness of being in that submerged world, where being amazed becomes natural. And submerged and surfaced become a unique infinite where to get lost.
Summer heat, muggy weather, today is Sunday. The sea is far away, beaches are crowded, gasoline is too expensive… we can’t get away from the city. If we stay home, we would end up watching Formula One on TV, sleeping on the couch, sweating like pigs, empty beer cans on the floor, saliva dripping from the left side of the mouth.
We need to go out during summer, have fun with friends, see some boobs and get drunk. In summer we fall in love and messages sound louder in empty streets; then we break up and the phone turns silent again. In summer we are in a good mood, the sky is clear, the sun is warm, it’s time to get tanned, even if the sun burns, we must escape to the nearest swimming pool, just thongs and caps, Sunday must begin!
But in summer the sea is black despite the chlorine, the sky is black despite the sun, concrete is black, the sea gull is black, our skin is black, the bitterness in our throat is black, this ridiculous dream of escaping is black, the Sunday we spent looking inside ourself is black, and slowly, the black sea is swallowing us.
Isabella Sommati
Photographer
I was born in Italy. After studies in graphics and advertising, I moved to Milan where I currently live and work as an art director for fashion and design firms.
After several years of reviewing other people’s pictures, I decided to start taking photos by and of myself. The element of water is often present in my shots, whether in the form of rain, tears, or humble public swimming pools. Water cleans, soothes and swallows, becoming the only escape.
Isabella Sommati
Photographer
I was born in Italy. After studies in graphics and advertising, I moved to Milan where I currently live and work as an art director for fashion and design firms.
After several years of reviewing other people’s pictures, I decided to start taking photos by and of myself. The element of water is often present in my shots, whether in the form of rain, tears, or humble public swimming pools. Water cleans, soothes and swallows, becoming the only escape.
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“After that magic moment when my eyes were opened to the sea, I was no longer able to see, think, and live as before.” –Jacques-Yves Cousteau
The first time I dove I felt fear, the second time I experienced wellness, the third I was on the front line to paradise.
In the universe of the salted bubbles, Alice in Wonderland would have mistook the White Rabbit with the Mad Hatter, because down there the reality is blurred and the fantasy become the explosion of the inner feelings. Gravity exists only in the breathing while emerging, to tell the lightness of being in that submerged world, where being amazed becomes natural. And submerged and surfaced become a unique infinite where to get lost.
Summer heat, muggy weather, today is Sunday. The sea is far away, beaches are crowded, gasoline is too expensive… we can’t get away from the city. If we stay home, we would end up watching Formula One on TV, sleeping on the couch, sweating like pigs, empty beer cans on the floor, saliva dripping from the left side of the mouth.
We need to go out during summer, have fun with friends, see some boobs and get drunk. In summer we fall in love and messages sound louder in empty streets; then we break up and the phone turns silent again. In summer we are in a good mood, the sky is clear, the sun is warm, it’s time to get tanned, even if the sun burns, we must escape to the nearest swimming pool, just thongs and caps, Sunday must begin!
But in summer the sea is black despite the chlorine, the sky is black despite the sun, concrete is black, the sea gull is black, our skin is black, the bitterness in our throat is black, this ridiculous dream of escaping is black, the Sunday we spent looking inside ourself is black, and slowly, the black sea is swallowing us.
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Asim Waqif: Assume the RiskJun 30, 2023 – Sep 1, 2024Mattress Factory is proud to present Assume the Risk, a new work by Delhi, India-based artist Asim Waqif. Museums are typically places of pristinely preserved objects. Secured behind glass and roped off from curious hands, the importance and value of a work is protected in climate-controlled rooms (more…)
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Ingela IhrmanSep 30, 2023 – Jan 14, 2024In a playful way, Ingela Ihrman’s work explores what it means to be human. With humour and sincerity, she lifts questions concerning identity and belonging by looking at different life forms and how we relate to one another. She focuses on strong emotions connected to everyday life, such as lust, longing and loneliness. (more…)
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Senta SimondPhotographerAfter studying aesthetic and theory of cinema at the University of Lausanne, Senta Simond completed an M.A. in Photography at ECAL, University of Art and Design in Lausanne, Switzerland. (more…)
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As Though We Hid the Sun in a Sea of StoriesOct 21, 2023 – Jan 14, 2024As Though We Hid the Sun in a Sea of Stories is an exhibition and research project that foregrounds an ever-incomplete weaving of narratives of artists, curators, writers, and customary knowledge holders. It traces the many worlds that have existed in parallel, often in spite of or against the oppressive visions imagined by successive regimes – the Russian Empire, the USSR, and contemporary Russia – that have controlled areas across Eastern Europe and Central and North Asia. (more…)
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Larry Madrigal: Already, Not YetOct 14 – Nov 11, 2023Already, Not Yet, the title of Larry Madrigal’s fourth solo exhibition with Nicodim, is a mantra the artist returned to throughout the creation of this body of work. In Madrigal’s words, “this phrase captures the idea that I currently possess everything I need to flourish within [myself], however, I am still in a process of growing and becoming.” (more…)
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Chen Chieh-jen: Her and Her ChildrenSep 16 – Nov 25, 2023Lin & Lin Gallery is presenting Her and Her Children – Introduction and Prologue, a solo exhibition by Chen Chieh-Jen, from September 16 to November 25, 2023. The exhibition will include the artist’s most recent video works In a World Losing Multiple Worlds I (2022) and Worn Away (2022 – 2023), as well as still photography and sketches, from the series Her and Her Children. (more…)
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Love Story: New Photography on Love and IntimacyPublicationLove is one of the most difficult things to photograph, yet this anthology of moving, unexpected images captures the heart of what it means to know and love another. From first love to lost love, these intimate portraits express the tenderness and vulnerability, passion and patience of this powerful emotion. (more…)
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Ligia Lewis: study now steadySep 30, 2023 – Feb 4, 2024This fall CARA will be hosting the first solo exhibition of artist and choreographer Ligia Lewis (b. 1983, Santo Domingo; lives and works in Berlin). Titled study now steady, the exhibition will be on view September 30, 2023 through February 4, 2024, presenting one live commission, a series of rehearsal/performances, as well as newly commissioned video work. (more…)
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UrbanauticaInstitute / JournalUrbanautica is an independent journal about visual anthropology and cultural landscapes that came from humble beginnings, and has now a spread in 4 continents and thousands of followers. (more…)
