A photographic exploration of the architecture, history and people of Naples at the time of the fervent Scudetto celebrations.
An anthropological and costume study, a photographic research on urban architectures, and an artistic reflection on a historical event converge in the book Giovanna Silva has created for the Madre Museum. Silva moves within all these diverse realms, and the result is greater than the sum of its constituent parts. With a deep understanding of Neapolitan urban planning and its historical context, the artist tirelessly traversed the city, portraying it with a composed approach that is less inclined to celebrate excess or isolated incidents. What Silva chose to showcase primarily revolves around the concept of accumulation: the quantity of enthusiastic decorative forms that have transformed the chromatic landscape of Naples as a whole, the horror vacui. Her shots, taken during the most vibrant, intense celebration days, do not soften the present and future of the depicted locations, nor do they domesticate them into stereotypes.
Giovanna Silva (born 1980 in Milan) is an Italian photographer, writer and publisher. Her photographic books have been published by Mousse, Hatje Cantz, and Nero among others. Her work has been shown at the 10th and 14th Venice architectural biennales, MACRO in Rome, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in Venice, the Triennale in Milan, the American Academy in Rome, FRAC Orléans, c/o Berlin, the Biennale de Rabat 2019, and the Italian Cultural Institute in New York. She is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Humboldt Books and the co-founder of San Rocco magazine. She teaches Photography at NABA Milan, IUAV Venice's master in photography program, and ISIA Urbino.
