Night beasts
by Eleonora Bendi
portfolio special mention call 'URBANAUTICA INSTITUTE AWARDS 2021', 2021
Category: Representations of Space, Architecture, and Conflicts
In this series, I explore industrial harbour areas across Europe. During the night, these buildings transcend their real dimension and appear as part of a “bestiary” or collection of fantasy creatures. The night sublimate their transition from the status of an object to the status of the subject. All along with this series, I apply the same photographic protocol (long exposure, same aperture, working with a tripod that blurs the limit between landscape and portraiture, making me reflect upon these buildings as posed subjects).
The magnificence of these steel and iron structures is emphasised by the reflection of artificial light surrounding them in the darkness of the night. In this situation, I see them as living beasts that breathe and pulse.
In the post-industrial era, they come into sight as a vestige of another time, part of contemporary mythology that I try to put into light.