THE NARROW WAY
This project stems from the desire to visually restore the memory of a dark, narrow, and deeply human marked place: the mines of Valtrompia.
Through an exploratory journey into the tunnels and galleries once traversed by miners, I documented spaces where danger is a constant presence and working conditions were, and remain in collective memory, extremely harsh.
The places I have portrayed still bear the traces of the sacrifices made by those who worked there, often at the cost of their health and, at times, their lives.
The unwholesome nature of the underground environment has left lasting consequences, such as respiratory illnesses that struck even years after the miners had left the shafts.
The central theme of this work is the tension between human intervention and the untamed power of the mountain.
Despite human efforts to shape and exploit the space, it is nature that ultimately sets the rules.
Darkness, humidity, rock, and danger are constant elements that dominate both the visual and physical experience of the underground.
Complementing the photographic work, I created a series of fixed frame video recordings aimed at capturing the subtle movements of the mountain, quiet yet persistent, that continue to manifest despite the abandonment of the tunnels.
The flow of underground rivers, the whistling of wind through the shafts, the barely perceptible sounds of the rock: all bear witness to a life that still pulses in the heart of the mountain, beyond human presence.
To evoke the sense of time, material, and oxidation that permeates these places, I chose to print the images using the Van Dyke technique, whose deep, iron rich tones echo the mineral elements of the site, thereby enhancing the material quality of the images.
The Narrow Way is a tribute to the memory of labor and to those hidden spaces beneath the surface that nonetheless tell a fundamental part of Valtrompia’s industrial and human history.
Through an exploratory journey into the tunnels and galleries once traversed by miners, I documented spaces where danger is a constant presence and working conditions were, and remain in collective memory, extremely harsh.
The places I have portrayed still bear the traces of the sacrifices made by those who worked there, often at the cost of their health and, at times, their lives.
The unwholesome nature of the underground environment has left lasting consequences, such as respiratory illnesses that struck even years after the miners had left the shafts.
The central theme of this work is the tension between human intervention and the untamed power of the mountain.
Despite human efforts to shape and exploit the space, it is nature that ultimately sets the rules.
Darkness, humidity, rock, and danger are constant elements that dominate both the visual and physical experience of the underground.
Complementing the photographic work, I created a series of fixed frame video recordings aimed at capturing the subtle movements of the mountain, quiet yet persistent, that continue to manifest despite the abandonment of the tunnels.
The flow of underground rivers, the whistling of wind through the shafts, the barely perceptible sounds of the rock: all bear witness to a life that still pulses in the heart of the mountain, beyond human presence.
To evoke the sense of time, material, and oxidation that permeates these places, I chose to print the images using the Van Dyke technique, whose deep, iron rich tones echo the mineral elements of the site, thereby enhancing the material quality of the images.
The Narrow Way is a tribute to the memory of labor and to those hidden spaces beneath the surface that nonetheless tell a fundamental part of Valtrompia’s industrial and human history.