A series of photographs of Naples, by Jim C. Nedd, blending and reinterpreting elements from diverse iconographic traditions, such as fashion photography, documentary, and tableau vivant.
Ecstasy and melancholy coexist in Jim C. Nedd's universe, rooted in moments of social and cultural resistance against the systemic mechanisms of gentrification, shaped by migratory histories like his own, and in the tensions between individual bodies and the social structures that surround them. The Stream is built around a double re-enactment of painter Léon Frédéric's eponymous triptych, which is a meditation on the profound connection between humanity and nature. Nedd reimagines this iconic work by photographing a group of Neapolitan youths before the imposing waterfall of Conca della Campania, which transcends its role as a scenic backdrop to emerge as a sentient subject, actively engaging with the human bodies around it.
Blurring the boundaries between the organic and the inanimate, Nedd moves beyond conventional iconographic dictates, seamlessly blending and reinterpreting elements from diverse iconographic traditions, such as fashion photography, documentary, and tableau vivant. His lens lingers on discrete people and objects, capturing moments suspended in time, which he later reshapes through postproduction crafting a porous, layered reality imbued with magical neorealism—constantly oscillating between performance and spontaneous ritual.
Accompanying these and other pictures from the artist's Neapolitan stay, a series of snapshots, extras, and behind-the-scenes photographs disrupts the dreamlike narrative, anchoring the work in the social and material context of its origin, and pulling the viewer back into the starkness of reality.
Jim C. Nedd (born 1991, lives in Milan) is a artist and musician. He often works in collaboration with other artists, among them Yuri Ancarani and Invernomuto. He is co-founder with Matteo Pit of Primitive Art, an experimental electronic music duo.
