Federico Aimar —Between the dust and the sun/ you don't have to be afraid

The representation of time in the landscape has something magical and mysterious. On different scales, if we stop to observe a place, we can see time in its most recognizable materiality by our intellect.

Starting from these assumptions and the desire to better understand the history of a mountain valley, I started a physical exploration of the landscape. And during this exploration, in a remote breeding house, now empty and forgotten over time, I found two suitcases containing a large quantity of glass negatives dating back to the early 1900s, the work of an unknown photographer. My exploration turned from physics to time. The same places I was photographing were impressed and kept on these small glass plates, which showed a very distant time, both for uses and for customs, in a very close place. From here I started a dialogue with this ancient photographer, whose traces I retraced both consciously and unconsciously (some of the images I scanned turned out to be identical to some I took before finding the slides).

I wonder if in 100 years time someone will retrace my own path, already beaten by someone long before me, continuing this temporal adventure...

I was born in 1989 in a small town in northern Italy and after classical studies I graduated in photography at the IED in Turin. My relationship with photography began with the landscape and the study of the relationship between man and nature. I have always had a strong interest in the signs that time leaves on things and people.

I worked with Alex Webb for the documentation of the Langhe Roero and Monferrato UNESCO heritage and published in some magazines. I have participated in several workshops, the last of which on the island of Asinara in Sardinia entitled Photosolstice. I don't do professional work, I think I would lose the flame that pushes me to look for an explanation of the world every day; I work as an educator with disabled and autistic children. At the moment I'm exploring a different photograph from this last work on the mountains and at the same time I'm looking for a publisher to publish two of my books.

For more information, please contact Federico Aimar at: federico.aaimar@gmail.com or visit: federicoaimar.com