ON THE EDGE
VIERI BOTTAZZINI’S MAKERSPLACE GENESIS COLLECTION
Launched: June 4, 2021
ON THE EDGE is a collection of 3 images created in 3 different countries telling 3 stories of humanity on the edge, physically, mentally and oftentimes both. Stories of hardship and hope, of discoveries and possibilities, of human solidarity and mutual support.
All images are single shot, unadulterated, pure black & white photographs. Each image tells its story through the passing of time, expressed visually in the works via the use of exposure controlling techniques, all done in-camera and at the time of shooting.
This collection is my way of sharing, through 3 universal stories, a moment of self-discovery and rebirth at an important junction of my personal life and career. For nearly 20 years, I worked as a concert musician and taught college. I loved both playing and teaching and I enjoyed my life. Then, in 2010 I spent a momentous summer month photographing the deserts of Southwest USA. In a way, my soul never left.
Losing myself in those endless spaces helped me finding my inner self and freed my creative energy like never before. It pushed me to go deep under the surface to discover who I truly was and what I really wanted to do.
The extreme heat and the harshness of the spectacular desert landscapes on the Southwest USA in summer toughened me, creatively, physically and mentally. I came back transformed. I knew, there and then, that I was going to do landscape photography for the rest of my life.
ON THE EDGE
GONE ARE THE GLORY DAYS
FEARLESSLY WESTWARD
THE DEVIL’S NO MORE
Transitioning to being a full-time professional landscape photographer took time and energy. I was on the verge of change, supercharged and energised, excited about what was to come. At the same time these were bittersweet times, since I was leaving behind a beautiful chapter of my life for good.
This collection tells the story of people on the edge of an end, and of a new beginning.
ON THE EDGE is a series of 1/1 edition NFTs available exclusively on MakersPlace. Upon request, each piece comes with a signed metal print and a free photographic book. Each sale funds the planting of 500 trees.
BLACK & WHITE | PASSION AT WORK
There’s nothing like black & white photography, for me. It is timeless, powerful and expressive, and I believe it to be the best medium to tell my stories and to reveal the true nature of the planet’s landscapes through my photographic interpretations. Black & white landscape photography is my lifelong passion.
Removing colour from a photograph is an incredibly powerful process in terms of the expressive possibilities it opens, one that requires a completely different approach to seeing the world around us. For me, it takes photography to another level, requiring a craftsmanship in the field, an attention to composition and an ability for abstract seeing, that colour photography doesn’t necessarily need. When I work, my decision is made long before pressing the shutter; if a landscape reveals its monochromatic nature to inspire me, I just can’t help it but let go of the colours.
My UltraDeep B&W are the result of a lifetime dedication to the art of B&W. Starting from the days of film, I explored the tonality and depth of B&W mixing my own, Pyro-based developers for a truly unique range of tones. When I moved to digital, I ported those deep tones to the digital realm via the creation of a personal process – the UltraDeep B&W – resulting in truly unique B&W photographs with a huge tonal range, compared to the flat, high-contrast look you see in most of digital B&W photography today.
ON THE EDGE | THE COLLECTION
GONE ARE THE GLORY DAYS
“Decades upon decades of engine noises, people shouting, metal clanging, fighting against the sound of the crashing waves and howling wind. Smoke, clouds, mist mixed with the smells of the sea, of burning coal, of people’s sweat.
Cohorts of men making a hard living stripping tin ore from 600 feet under the sea worked on the mine during its glory days. Then, men went, the engines stopped, the ocean claimed back the tunnels.
Gone are the glory days, all that is left is the echo of men’s sounds and machine noises, slowly silenced by the howling winds and the crashing waves.”
Cornwall is a home of the heart for me, a place I immediately fell in love with, since my first visit years ago. One of the things that characterises Cornwall, and one you can’t ignore when interpreting this region’s spectacular landscapes, is the area’s mining past.
While abandoned today, imagining hundreds of people bustling around this engine, making a hard living mining tin ore hundreds of feet under the ocean, on the edge of losing their lives on the job, or their livelihood when the mines closed, deeply resonated with me. “Gone Are the Glory Days” is a testament to human resilience.
Read the full “Behind the scene” on my blog: THE STORY BEHIND GONE ARE THE GLORY DAYS
If you are interested in collecting this piece, feel free to CONTACT ME for details and to schedule a call.
FEARLESSLY WESTWARD
“Nothing scared them, neither the unknown, nor the seemingly endless road awaiting, nor the darkness, nor the storms. One day, unexpectedly, their journey came to a stop. Nothing ahead but the ocean, no more land to explore.
Fearlessly moving westward, they arrived at lands’ end. Unable to keep going, their mission became to help the journey of others; for over a century, that’s what they did, their bodies standing guard in the lighthouse.
Their souls, still moving fearlessly westward.”
“Fearlessly Westward” is inspired by the idea of exploring the unknown until there is nothing left; and even then, letting our mind go farther, never stopping, never giving up.
Neist Point, Skye’s westernmost location, juts into the ocean like it’s ready to take off. When there, I couldn’t help imagining myself spending a lifetime locked in the lighthouse, left only with my longing for new worlds to discover. “Fearlessly Westward” is a testament to the power of dreaming.
Read the full “Behind the scene” on my blog: THE STORY BEHIND FEARLESSLY WESTWARD
THE DEVIL'S NO MORE
“Few men, entrenched in the Devil’s tower, watched for enemies never to come. For centuries they patiently waited, their minds easy prey for the dark one.
A fair lady chased the Devil away and turned the tower into a castle; not for war, but to make a home of it. The dark one, scattered onto the rocks outside his former seat, now screams between the thunders and the waves.
The tower, is the Devil’s no more.”
I’ve been exploring Tuscany since I was a kid, I know it like the back on my hand & love it deeply. The coastline south of Leghorn is home to many old watchtowers; this is one of them, a small tower known as “Devil’s Tower” before being developed into a residential castle.
It is such a powerful feeling to think that a small group of men could forever wait in a small tower for their end to come, never knowing when that could be. “The Devil’s No More” is a testament to human courage.
Read the full “Behind the scene” on my blog: THE STORY BEHIND THE DEVIL’S NO MORE.
More information coming soon! If you are interested in collecting this piece, feel free to CONTACT ME for details and to schedule a call.
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