Alessia Rollo. Visual Narratives of the Italian South

Parallel Eyes is Rollo’s exploration of the culture of Southern Italy, which she herself belongs to, and consists of two main components: one involves manipulating archival photographs taken by various photojournalists in the 1950s and 1960s, here displayed alongside selected photographs by Franco Pinna and Chiara Samugheo, as well as Ernesto di Martino’s books about Southern Italian rituals and culture. The other documents historical Southern rituals that are still practiced today. A video installation shows how Rollo alters images using digital and analog tools, such as painting on negatives, or pinning photographs. Rollo aims to reassess the depiction of her roots in visual and sociological terms, delving into a realm of symbols, archetypes, and emotions. The primary goal of this project is to propose a new visual narrative about the Italian South to shift perceptions of the past and inspire a new outlook for the future.

Alessia Rollo (1982) is a visual artist born in southern Italy, where she currently lives and works. After graduating in visual communication from the University of Perugia, she completed a master’s degree in creative photography at EFTI (Spain) in 2009. Her projects focus on the Mediterranean area and aim to challenge its main narratives by addressing social and visual stereotypes, both past and present, in order to offer a different perspective on the Mediterranean region. By reappropriating local histories and utilizing related visual materials, her projects often seek to broaden the understanding of the communities she explores. Recent solo and group exhibitions include: “Parallel Eyes”, Fotografia Europea, Reggio Emilia (2023) and Pinacoteca e Museo del fuoco, Novoli, Italy (2022); “An endless day”, Gallery NetPlus, Cesson-Sévigné, France (2021); “Fata Morgana”: Italian Embassy, Madrid, Spain (2020); “How to build a temple How to build the true”, Istituto Italiano di cultura, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia (2019).

Exhibition dates: April 17 – September 12, 2024

Access information to the exhibition:
Via Gregoriana 30
00187 Rome
Mon-Fri 9:30 am – 6:30 pm

Research Exhibition curated by Viviana Costagliola