Altari
Paolo Covino
The Velvet Cell
English, Italian
Hardcover
Edition of 500
96 pages
170× 230 mm
2024
ISBN 9781908889997
The symbolic universe represented by my “beds / altars” has its roots in the perception of the abandonment of a territory, the Sannio, and its peasant culture, in the painful awareness of the oblivion to which the ancestral and primeval customs of the places where I come from are intended. They are not replaced by forces of innovation, nor revitalizing hopes, but rather discouraged tendencies of refusal and abandonment. The photographic recovery of the bedrooms, intended as places of worship of a past in decay, develops from this social, cultural and historical haemorrhage. The custody of the sacred canon of the family, of its continuation, the fideistic certainty in a future both of procreation and of death, becomes tangible, in my imagination, in this intimate and reserved room, which becomes an altar. It is an alcove and a shroud, the cradle of those who are generated and the ground of those who have come to an end, in a circular rite that re-proposes the cycle of existence. Once the weight value that previous generations assigned to the bedroom is discarded, the cycle is broken, history is lost, memory evaporates. Finding such ancient and intact sanctuaries engaged me in a difficult search, which produced “Altars”: my greeting, probably a farewell, to the Lares gods and to all that they will no longer be able to represent.
(Source: urbanautica.com/portfolio/altari/2190)
About the Artist
Paolo Covino (Benevento, 1983) lives in Pietrelcina and works in Naples. A self-taught photographer, his relationship with his local area – the Campania hinterland – has been fundamental to his artistic development. He began collaborating with local newspapers before gaining publication in national magazines through his personal and intimate projects.
He has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Today, his work is dedicated to exploring the meanings and messages of a faded world, much like the one he experienced in his childhood.
paolocovino.it/
(Source: fanzineist.com/paolo-covino/)
About the Publisher
The Velvet Cell is a German-based photobook publisher run by visual artist Ricardo Nunes and was established by Éanna de Fréine in 2011. They are rooted primarily in the themes of urbanization and the human-altered world. Their approach is single-minded: to create beautiful, interesting and informative books that bring delight to people, and help to see the world in new ways. In the 14 years they’ve been around, they have become known as a source of quality photography projects– by both established artists, like Alejandro Cartagena, Toshio Shibata or Peter Bialobreskzi and up-and-coming artists. They pride themselves on the care and thoughtfulness that goes into every stage of the book-making process, and strive to reflect the diversity of visual arts publishing today.
https://thevelvetcell.com/
(Source: https://thevelvetcell.com/info)
