Through

“Through” is a project exploring culture and geography, with the aim of expanding into territories where a sense of community and place endures despite the slow erosion of traditions brought about by relentless economic pressure.

It is the middle of March and I find myself on the long, wide Shirahama beach; spring is beginning to flourish, and the air is still a mixture of a biting winter chill and a warm hint of spring. What will become, in the months to come, one of the most popular beaches amongst local and visiting surfers alike is today a deserted stretch of sand, whose only visitors are small pebbles carried by the sea and deposited on the shoreline in varied formations. Their shapes and colours are incredibly varied, but they all feature tiny pores that allow me to quickly grasp the history and subsequent development of the area I have arrived in, almost by coincidence.

The southernmost tip of the Izu Peninsula revisited through 20 photographs that capture its natural features, its inhabitants and traces from the present and the past. As is often the case, the landscape is inherently connected to the life that takes place within it. Izu, in particular, vividly preserves its geological transformations: once submerged volcanic seabeds, today the population lives amidst dramatic, porous rock formations and lush vegetation, thanks to the abundant supply of water. Fishing, one of the age-old livelihoods, has involved the local community for many generations and has shaped the way the villages have developed along the coastline in relation to the farmland. Fishing nets are carefully mended every day and displayed in open spaces or outside homes, bearing witness to the presence of marine life and ancestral traditions. What might at first glance go unseen emerges as a cohesive whole of elements that reflect the same light and, in turn, radiate a shared presence that resonates throughout the space, engaging every sense: the intense glints of the sea, the steep and jagged terrain, the waves crashing against the shore, the salty air so fresh it sends a shiver down your spine, the briny scents mingling, at the start of spring, with the first blossoming flowers. In this sense, each element depicted anticipates and somehow heralds the next, creating a living testimony to this ancient coastline.

‘Through’ is a project of cultural and territorial exploration. After years of reflection and observation, it emerged naturally during a visit to Japan, but is intended to evolve in regions where a careful observation of the landscape can help us reconnect with the origins of a way of life that began long before our time. “Through” signifies an investigation, an in-depth exploration “through” details, moments, activities and other viewpoints. The preposition, which originally has a neutral connotation, becomes for me a starting point for investigation – through external agents – aimed at discovery and, if you will, transformation from the initial point.