The artistic practice of Nicola Vinci (Castellaneta di Taranto, 1975) can be regarded as unique on the contemporary Italian scene, by virtue of the poetry and the sapient attention to detail characterising the photo sets of this young Pugliese artist.
For the exhibition hosted by the Emmeotto Gallery, Vinci has realised a new series of works: they depict transposed visions, which act as portrait of the subject, in the absence of the subject itself. To talk about the missing subjects, these portraits draw on a wide range of places, spread in space and time; yet, the imagery associated with those places metaphorically refers to the protagonist.
The character of Bartolomeo Diaz is portrayed by the interior of a school: two windows separated by a piece of furniture, with a pile of books and a globe. The crumbling kitchen in the shades of red and a fireplace in the middle is the metaphor for Heinrich Himmler. Dante Alighieri is symbolised by a staircase in a public place, with some camp beds stacked up nearby. Antonin Artaud is described by a long room, with chequered tiles and rosy walls; inside there is a window and a radiator with a red telephone on it. For Napoleone the author uses a red child's bicycle, abandoned in a deserted place, while in the case of Erich Priebke the camera zooms in on an open door in the corridor of a former prison. Pinochet is symbolised by a decaying bathroom; Ponzio Pilato by a sink in the shades of a mellow green. The water lilies of a lake basin are the metaphor for Ofelia, while Albino Mussolini is represented by the cell of a disused mental hospital, whose walls are covered with photographs, postcards and images alluding to wolfdogs, lakes, uniforms – all symbols of an era and remnants of a mystery. Peter Pan is symbolised by the former bedroom of a child, still containing some small toys which blend into the playful wallpaper in the background. Such image is counterbalanced by the severe room representing Pol Pot, worn out by time and neglect. A sapiently positioned red office chair and a sink besieged by dry leaves talks about Pio XII and all his weaknesses. Finally, in Martin Lutero, a cross nailed to the wall has left its mark on the portion of wall from which it has been removed, to the memory of the iustum facere, the justification by faith professed by Martin Luther.