Isola untitled
The past cannot be re-lived. Except through those people that remember, with or without regret, that which was the quarter of Isola then but is no more.
Milan, as everything, does change. It's difficult to understand where the changes are heading to and much easier to rationalise that past that is just now a memory. Virgilio Carnisio doesn't fall into the classical trap of nostalgia. Instead he adopts a critical point of view by pointing his lens towards reality and the result is always a clear and linear picture, in which every element contributes to the overall proportions. Carnisio gets close to the neighbourhood of Isola to witness the changes. He doesn't just stop and take a glimpse at streets and courtyards that have drastically changed.
Whilst taking photos, to the contrary, his mind returns to those places of the past and thinks about the years that have gone by. This work is born out of that psychological introspection. It was possible to create this reportage because the photographer wanted to use his own archived photographs taken in the 1960's and combine them with his recent shots. There are houses that were gobbled up by property speculation: charateristical buildings that became anonymous as well as good examples of renovated ones. The work of Virgilio Carnisio remains balanced between social reportage and urban photography but overall it's a guide to observe reality with care, an incentive to remain aware, an invite to participate in the forefront of the changes in the city without limiting yourself to only observe that Isola is not what it once was. We cannot recreate the past but we can work on building the future. Text by Roberto Mutti
