Pilot Round Spring 2022 – From Oslo to Helsinki

Silvia De Giorgi

My work as a photographer is mainly focused on the natural environment. In my practice, I reflect on mankind's historical relationship to the land and I continuously question my own impact as an artist on the natural surrounding. The project reflects on the impermanence of the natural environment and the fragility of our human presence in the landscape.

During my artist residency at Mörk Darkroom I initiated two experimental projects inspired by Helsinki and its surroundings. The first work consists in a series of lumen prints. These were created in different locations in the coastal areas of Helsinki, using seawater, ice, and organic matter trapped inside the ice like rocks, sand, and algae. The prints document the melting process of the ice and the marks and patterns left on the photographic surface by its slow progress of disappearance. 

The second body of work I started working on during the residency was directly inspired by Subterranean – an temporary exhibition at Amos Rex Art Museum Helsinki. This series is still in progress and explores the possibility of an imaginary journey through the underworld. Elements of landscape photographs and archaeological objects are combined through a collage-like process in the darkroom to show visions of subterranean sceneries. 

Silvia De Giorgi (b. 1992) is an Italian photographer and artist, who lives and works between Oslo and Bolzano, Italy. She graduated from the University of the Arts London with an MA in Visual Arts (Camberwell College of Arts, 2017), and a Master of Arts in Drawing (Wimbledon College of Arts, 2019). In her practice, she interrogates the varied relationships between people, places and landscapes. Her work is concerned with notions of time and memory and is frequently influenced by archaeological research practices. She was among the winners of the Passepartout Photo Prize 2021, the Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards 2020, and the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2019. 

Website: www.silvia-degiorgi.com

Instagram: @silvia.de.giorgi