November 2022
Torre del Friero from Collado Jermoso · Picos de Europa, National Park, León, Spain. 2016
Silver gelatin print, 10¼ x 10¼ in (26 x 26 cm) · Limited edition to 30 copies
"The path to the summit is,
like the journey to oneself,
a solitary route."
Alessandro Gogna (Italy, 1946)
If you knew that your photographs would never be seen by anyone but yourself, would you still continue to make them?
In recent years, while traversing the mountains, I have encountered all kinds of people. Often, I come across someone moving swiftly, their gaze fixed on the trail. Someone who simply aims to conquer the peaks, as if conquering the cold and inert rock were possible. Perhaps they do not understand that the real conquest is internal, and traversing those paths alone is the reason to keep walking. Reaching the summit is not the conquest of the rock; it is the culmination of the pilgrimage to oneself.
Similar to how, for the true mountaineer, ascending the mountain becomes a form of self-discovery, the authentic artist feels the need to make their emotions tangible through artistic creation, as a form of introspection. I cannot conceive of art without the honest desire of the artist to create it and shape their ideas and emotions. When that same artist limits themselves to creating, expecting the approval of others, art becomes distorted and loses its essence. Art then becomes a product, a spectacle, an attempt to impress the viewer and the market.
No, I have no doubt that I would continue to take photographs even if no one but myself ever looked at them. There is a long and slow process in their creation. For me, it is a pilgrimage along a path of perfection, and yes, also of self-discovery.
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