Translating Environmental Issues: The Third Place of the Numero+ Switzerland Photography Contest
For the third place of our first Numéro+ Switzerland Photography Contest, we travel to Milan, where the Italian multidisciplinary artist Giuseppe La Spada captivated the jury’s attention with his underwater photography.
Specializing in photography, video, and installations, La Spada excels in creating three-dimensional, interactive, or process-based projects. Despite his use of diverse media, a consistent theme in his work is a deep commitment to environmental issues. Frequently expressed through the motif of water, his art aims to raise awareness about the precarious state of our planet caused by human activity.
In his contest submission, La Spada delved into the human-nature relationship, a theme close to his heart. With the sense of sacrifice in the West having completely disappeared, consequently the protection of something sacred has too. He collaborated with flower designer Svetlana Shikhova to rework the concept of beauty as an offering. Together, they created flower arrangements symbolizing sacrifice, set in the sea before the Stromboli Volcano. During the shoot, a volcanic explosion posed a dangerous situation, highlighting the powerful and unpredictable force of nature. This event reinforced the team’s sense of urgency to raise awareness about humanity’s interdependence with the natural world, reminding them of nature’s grandeur and our smallness within it.
La Spada’s photo series is so special as it does not only showcase the beauty nature has to offer, but as well how we, as human beings, are depending on nature’s provisions and how we thrive within.
author JON FLOYD LENZ