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THE HUMAN BEING !

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Eleonora Pontiggia Portfolio

!1. LIFE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LIFE AND DEATH!!April, 2014!!Canon EOS 550D, Sigma lens 18-125!!This photography sequence represent a reflection on death and life. I tried to give a personal interpretation about time. Generally time is seen as a line where our lives take place moving in a cyclic way. Fire and light are synonyms of life all along, thus I decided to represent it as a candle flame. Initially is weak, then it begin to burn more and more melting the wax at the same time. The process will led to a slow weaken of the flame which will produces a new light and so a new life. !

!!!!!!!!!!!THE WASTE LAND!!January, 2015!!Canon EOS 550D, Sigma lens 18-125!!Starting from the analysis of “The waste land” of T.S. Eliot I extrapolated some verse from the last section. The poet complains about modern society for its complete lack of spirituality and condemns men to a passive life whose only purpose is to wait for death. I have looked for a solution for this situation. Studying the historical period in when Eliot writes it is easy to understand his vision of life. I quoted the Hamlet soliloquy “To be or not to be” and I asked myself if it is better to fight for our values or to resign ourselves to the events. I got in touch with indian and buddhist culture, I read some writings of Buddha and an interview to the philosopher Krishnamurti. What relates these two thinkers is that both thought present time is the only one which really exists. Then I took inspiration from some works of the video artist Bill Viola. My final photographies show two white lines of light which represent past and future and moving in the space as ghosts suddenly they crash creating a new sole line of colored light which represents present time and is symbol of life. It is only in the present moment that we can save us from an empty existence.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AN ORDINARY JOURNEY!!February, 2014!!Canon EOS 550D, Sigma lens 18-125!!In this project I worked on the theme of travel as metaphor of life. As every route, it is composed by steps which are the goals we want to reach. The performance, from which I have taken one shot, shows the model moving in the space. She represents all of us. During this sort of dance she is pull by people who try to prevent her movements. Hands symbolize obstacles we had to face of with. On the contrary the black stains on her body are the enrichments which make us stronger. At the end of the performance the model will return to the initial quietness. !

2. SHAPES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!May, 2012!!Pencil on cardboard!!70 x 100 cm!!Graphic studies on human figure by the life drawing of nude models and plaster statues.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!November, 2013 - December, 2014!!Canon EOS 550D, Sigma lens 18-125+18-55!!Photographic studies on human figure. Photography is basically composed by light and because of that I decided to play around it bringing out shapes from darkness. I took inspiration from two great artists who I love and who used light to create something stunning: Caravaggio and R. Mapplethorpe.!

3. APPEARANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THE DIVINE EYE!!March, 2013!!Hot glue casting into a rubber-silicon mold, wood!w 45 x h 20 cm!!The project is about makeup usage as mean of communication nowadays and in ancient times. Starting from the eyes as natural element I studied their vital function, their structure and the historical symbolism connects with eyes. Both metaphorically and practically the eye has a communicative function; it permits to relate us with the environment and in the past it was the vehicle to communicate with god. In the ancient Egyptian culture the eyes were made up during magical rituals to emphasized their power. Nowadays women underline the eyes using them as mean of seduction. The three-dimensional work links these two aspects: I created a mask on which gold represents the relationship between men and god, while the black line surrounds the eye which get a strong espressive power. !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!!March, 2015!!Canon EOS 550D, Sigma lens 18-125!!!Project based on Expo 2015 theme. Our diet define our appearance too. I have pointed out the tight link between men and what we eat; the food that usually remain inside us, here is shown as a dress that we can wear.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!October, 2011!!Canon EOS 550D, Sigma lens 18-55!!Researches in the field working with a professional fashion photographer, trying to better understand the labor market.