Celebrating the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Italy, The Museum of Photography, Seoul (MOPS) and the Italian Cultural Institute, Seoul present a collaborative project, Italian Nostalgia, a group exhibition by 3 contemporary Italian photographers born in the 1960s, corresponding to the Korean generation of digital transition.

During the era of 1990s when the analogue and digital sentiments came together in a peculiar fashion, Korean artists began to sense the overall change in society and responded to the gap between the new reality and vanishing and erased objects with the images blending analogue with digital. Then what kind of work did Italian photographers of the same generation produce? The curiosity only grows further.

The three artists are Cesare Di Liborio (*1960), Massimiliano Camellini (*1964), and Luca Gilli (*1965). Incidentally all of them are originated in Reggio Emilia, where is also the origin of Luigi Ghirri(1943~1992), an Halian photographer and writer who gained a far-reaching reputation as a pioneer and master of contemporary photography. In 1990s just as the Korean artists of the same age started to unfold their wings in photography, they too started their career as a photographer at about the same time. Di Liborio who was an amateur became a professional when he met with Vasco Ascolini(1937~ ) in 1993 while Gilli was able to indulge in various experiments for his personal photographic work when he established his personal graphic art studio and publishing house in 1998. Massimilano Camellini has concentrated on personal studies in photography centering on reportage which he has been interested in since the 1990s. The eldest of the three, Di Liborio will present his most notable series from 1990s Heracles's Pole for this exhibition. In addition to the works of late 1990s, the most recent works produced in the new millennium will be on display too. This will include 24 selected pieces from Di Liborio’s gelatin silver series Heracles's Pole photographed in 1996~1998, together with 17 and 26 notable pieces each from Camellini and Gilli’s most recent series.

Although the three differ in their photographic methods and expressions, interestingly enough they all coincide in the theme of ‘space’ to explore the traces and memories contained within. The space here is either an obsolete ruin or an empty area left only with the memories. Camellini’s ‘space’ is a textile factory in Torino that has passed its heyday and now about to be shut down, while Gilli turns to an abandoned factory or empty building that belongs to no one. In a slightly different context, the space chosen by Di Liborio is a structure (mostly columns or fences) that has lost its past glory and left only with traces. Images of the three artists on the memory of the space and its traces reveal how this generation of Italy far away from Korea who has simultaneously experienced the past and the new can also be tied together with the sentiment of ‘nostalgia’ that is more passionate and intense than any other generation has gone through.

The history and footsteps of everyday life inherent in the minds of Italians are transformed into powerful photographic images in this exhibition. Photography as the most significant medium of communication of the new generation and also as the global lingua franca will once again confirm the historical and cultural consensus between the two countries and lay the cornerstone of exchange in photographic cultures. The three artists will visit Korea for the exhibition opening and participate in 'Artist Talk' to be held on the same day.

Artists

Cesare Di Liborio (*1960) was born in Reggio Emilia of northern Italy the artist moved to Basilicagoiano in 1989 where he has resided in ever since. He started to take photographs in 1980s and just like the other two artists he was greatly influenced by Vasco Ascolini whom he met with in 1993, an encounter that made him decide to become a professional photographer. Ever since, he has presented various photographic series through solo and group exhibitions held across the world. Heracles's Pole series of this exhibition has been displayed at Musée Reattu in 2000 as part of the Arles Photo Festival.

Born in Venice Massimiliano Camellini (*1964) is a current resident of Reggio Emilia where he works as photographer. Starting from 2001, his work includes Beyond the Cages series where he explored the universal theme of “human nature and dreams”, extending to The Flyers(2004), Duel(2006), New Arenas(2009), Laboratory Obsession(2010), and his most recent series 6 p.m., the working time is over(2012) that will be shown in this exhibition. His professional inspirations come from interactions with artists and photography curators including Vasco Ascolini as well as Charles-Henri Favrod, Jean Arrouye, Enrica Viganò, Georges Vercheval, Mara Granzotto, Lòrànd Hegyi, and Manuela De Leonardis. From 2013 he has been working as the Italian branch director of The Royal Photographic Society(RPS) (Bath, UK).

Luca Gilli (*1965) is a native of Cavriago from the province of Reggio Emilia in northern Italy where he has lived all his life and work as photographer. Having specialized in natural science in college, Gill has worked for several years as a wild environment consultant while he continued to pursue photography, until 1998 when he established a private graphic design studio and publishing house. He has mostly focused on nature but in Blank series of 2011 he photographed ‘an anonymous space’ in which he scrutinized in depth how the conception on light and space are related to each other and what new potential can be found in photography. Quentin Bajac, current Chief Curator of photography of MoMA, New York, introduced just about this new conception. In this exhibition he will exhibit this Blank series along with his other works since. Gilli has held solo and group exhibitions in various public museums and art galleries in Italy and other international locations. This year, he has also received 'BNL group BNP Paribas award' given to prestigious artists in 'Milan Image Art Fair'.