The Waste Land

• Prize
  Bronze in Editorial/Environmental
• Photographer
  Alma Bibolotti
• Technical Info
  Nikon D3000, Lightroom, Photoshop Cs6
• Photo Date
  2020-2022

A study carried out by the European Drought Observatory shows that the Summer of 2022 in Europe was the driest of the past two centuries: desertification is touching more than 1/5 of the Italian territory and Basilicata is among the regions most at risk. In the land studies of its Monte Cotugno dam, the largest water reservoir in Europe, I try to express my emotional perception of this dramatic situation through visions characterised by a diaphanous rendering of 'the Waste Land' showing the cracks caused by the receding waters as well as the ‘skeletons’ of ‘civilization’.

My relationship with photography started when I discovered Edward Weston, Mimmo Jodice, Mario Giacomelli, Lucien Clergue, and many other masters whose works strongly influenced my vision. Photography is an inner journey, vital to me. Much of my work focuses on the language of nature, on my relationship with landscape and the natural world. I aim to render what I feel while shooting, rather than what I witness. I also think that sometimes common objects and simple landscapes evoke parallel worlds where dreaminess and double meaning prevail so that outer space gives voice to my inner gaze.