Tangible Unreality.

Emiliano Picciolo, 2022

Stretching along the Ionian coast of Salento, a coastal road connects, amongst other places, the two main tourist hubs of Gallipoli and Ugento. Along its route, it crosses residential, agricultural, and natural contexts, shaping its own road section accordingly. It alternates between densely populated ares and long stretches of territory, either cutting through seaside towns or intersecting the roadways that lead to them.

The most common image of these places is that of the seasonal beach scene, with bustling beach bars, promenades, crowded parking lots, and commercial activities with outdoor displays lining the pavements. While this image is cyclical, it is also entirely constructed and therefore territorially unreal; life around this coastal road is characterised by silence and isolation, conditions that make it difficult to understand the anxiety of urban spaces.

This is a silent journey, with long and static stops in places of isolation, where the unreal finally becomes tangible.

All photographs are available in limited editions of 10, in different sizes.

A printed version of the zine in a 17x24cm format is also available in limited copies, printed on FSC-certified Fedrigoni Symbol Freelife Satin paper.

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