International Departure Gate 11, Valentina Bonizzi

From 18 June to 17 July 2011, International Departure Gate 11 exhibition is held in the spaces that previously housed the Sant’Agostino Hospital in Modena, Italy. Dedicated to photography students from ten training institutions across Europe, the aim is part of the didactic objectives that characterise the Fondazione Fotografia, the cultural project set by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena, a project begun at the same time as its international collection of contemporary photography.

The focus of Valentina Bonizzi’s work is a concept of time in relation to a sense of place and the sense of responsibilities that we may or may not have towards it.

The political becomes the technical in the creative process. The use of the technical image, both still and moving, makes use of time as an artefact. Through experimental filmmaking Bonizzi is currently investigating the possibilities of revisiting our perception of personal stories together with hidden historical fact.

In her more recent work photography and video explore the role of language, artefact and location in creating identity within collapsed and expanded periods of time between what was and what is. Her works attempt to show what happens when traditions and language are taken out of their original context and preserved within a new situation, while in their place of origin, language, culture and ritual evolve at a much faster rate apparently without the need of preservation or celebration.

At present her practice is going towards experimental filmmaking and the possibilities of revisiting our perception of personal stories together with hidden historical facts.

Image Timeology, 2010 Valentina Bonizzi

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