Interviews with Patrizia Dottori

Beauty is one of my points of reference: a photo must be beautiful (subjectively, of course), especially when it is meant to represent something ugly. Those who are drawn to a photograph also enter it on an emotional level, and for me it’s important that they ask themselves a question. Asking questions even before giving answers opens the mind — it allows you to go beyond what you see.Anyone who looks at the photo FireBerg Series Cold 23 Environment and wonders if it depicts a volcano, then realizes it doesn’t, and finally discovers that it’s a glacier — I’m sure that, over time, in the time of reflection, they will understand that it represents the melting of the glacier, and that this process is one of the effects of climate change.

During exhibitions in different places around the world, the audience has always been amazed by my message conveyed through the negative inversion of the Perito Moreno’s cracks.Astonishment itself is not only a visual effect, but above all an inner one — that effect which leads the viewer to think beyond what they see, to feel, and to imagine what I am “saying” through the images.I believe that, up to now, everyone (at least in my presence) has understood that we have a duty toward the planet we inhabit.

I have been to the Perito Moreno Glacier twice.The first time, I didn’t have much time to realize everything I had in mind, but I still worked a lot on the details.The second time, however, for safety reasons, I was required to follow the designated path without stepping off the track. This immediately put me in a very standard position — not what I was looking for. On the other hand, it pushed me to take greater risks, because I knew that this project, which tells the story of such a significant phase of this moment, had sharpened my determination as an artist.

Setting up an exhibition is always a delicate moment.The printing of an image on a chosen medium is a decisive choice for the impact it will have on the audience.The first printing test I did was in Buenos Aires, where I live when I’m not in Rome. I went to a professional print lab (Buenos Aires Color) and asked to do several tests on aluminum and glossy paper.They suggested using the type of paper generally employed for direct printing from slides (E6). However, here in Italy — and I believe in Europe as well — that kind of paper has a cool tone. In any case, I took their suggestion into consideration, and it turned out to be a revelation!In fact, in Latin America, the same type of paper (E6) has a warm tone — exactly what I needed to emphasize my FireBerg project.

Beauty, wonder, and mystery have accompanied me since I created the FireBerg project.The inversion from positive to negative perfectly connects photography to the concept it expresses — in this case, cold–hot, blue–orange, glacier–volcano.I immediately found this duality very powerful, a true fusion between photography and concept. When you find the right key to convey a strong and direct message, it’s important to nurture it and bring it into other projects as well.

I believe that photography — and images in general — should be present more often when they carry an important message, such as that of climate change.I would love to explore it in every possible way, not only through exhibitions but also by bringing it into homes and into the streets. For example, I would love it if, during events dedicated to the Earth, the FireBerg photographs were printed on all the shop shutters.Or to print them on fabrics — like sheets or curtains — on furniture, and alongside them create other accessories with matching details.I’ve imagined a large hotel entirely dedicated to environmental issues, where on each floor there would be one of my projects on the environment, expressed in every possible form.

The A’ Design Award has been a great recognition for me — not only for the award itself, but above all because its structure is truly innovative in every respect.The support it offers helps an artist grow their reputation, and with it, their ideas and message.The intense and widespread activity — its distribution, communication, and attention to the artist — undoubtedly helps to make one’s work better known and strengthens its underlying message, which in my case specifically concerns the environment.There are other projects, still works in progress, connected to this theme that I intend to submit to upcoming competitions (one has already been presented and awarded), with the aim of broadening the perspective on this issue as much as possible.

This project was born during a journey to the Perito Moreno Glacier.In a short time, I managed to find a surreal way to narrate environmental decay — through the beauty of an image that, at first glance, evokes exactly the opposite.I believe that the audience needs an aesthetic approach to truly understand, deep down, how essential even their smallest action can be.

FireBerg was the first in a series of environmental projects, which fall under the broader concept of Mother&Land.I have often used the negative, but not in all projects: I believe that color inversion can, in a certain way, seem aggressive when its deeper message is revealed. That’s why sometimes I have left the positive image, equally beautiful, as a transition from what exists to what might no longer exist.Thinking about the end of Planet Earth is something greater than ourselves. Being aware of it, and doing something — each of us playing our part — is a duty we must adhere to if we want to continue living here.

Every exhibition requires its own unique setup. In the case of WoodBerg, wood—which is naturally warm—becomes cold through color inversion. To enhance this effect, I considered glossy paper, aluminum, and E6 photographic paper. The latter, however, proved too cold and too dark for some images, so I opted for direct printing on aluminum. The colors appear softer, and the tonalities are clearer, emphasizing the concept of forest destruction while marking a very specific moment.

The WoodBergs project was born in a woodworking shop: seeing so many felled trees moved me deeply to create something about destruction and transformation. The use of color inversion from positive to negative—already employed in my environmental projects starting with FireBerg—made my task easier, as I was already familiar with an effective visual language. Later, I “rediscovered” many other images I had taken on the subject, as if I only needed to bring them together. It is clear that in my photography, the desire to convey environmental concern has always been strong.

In the case of this image, the use of a smartphone was incidental, simply because I happened to be in the woodworking shop without my camera. I still used the Pro mode, which is like a smartphone RAW format.The use of smartphones (as in the case of FireBerg) can be part of research or, in extreme cases like this one, the only way to seize an opportunity. In general, I try to avoid it, but if the goal is to convey my message, it works.

Images not only need a proper display, but, in my view, also a title.Since I was exploring Nature in its most literal sense, I decided to give the series the names of the seasons, linking the five elements to the annual cycle of life. If the seasons represent a process of transformation, the use of negatives freezes this process at a single moment of destruction.

When I worked on my first FireBerg project, I realized that I would need to focus on the four elements of Nature. However, as I worked on subsequent projects, I felt that these elements did not encompass all environmental rights. So I conducted various researches and readings and arrived at the five elements of Eastern philosophy, integrating wood and thus “flora.”

Through beauty, I engage the audience in asking questions. Cold wood leaves the viewer in a state of mixed confusion. This allows the observer to delve deeper into their interpretation of the image, to explore their emotions, sensations, and experiences, and thus move beyond beauty itself. The “warmth” that becomes “cold” is one of the most tragic human experiences.

Winning the A’Design Award was a significant achievement, and as such, it must be surpassed through the consistency of my work, creativity, and dedication. The structure of the A’Design Award is very rigorous, but also highly constructive for the artist, supporting their reputation and growth. Through communication and distribution to other members in different countries, it not only increases awareness of the artist but, most importantly, of their message and the creativity with which they convey it.

Size is another detail that contributes to the exhibition process. I believe that the greater and deeper the concept or message, the larger the dimensions needed to convey it, allowing the viewer to immerse themselves—especially emotionally—so as to reach a reflection that we all recognize intellectually, but less so on an emotional level.

Beyond the visual language I use—not always involving inversion from negative to positive, sometimes simply positive for some of the projects that make up Mother&Land—I have realized that ever since I began photographing, in many places around the world and in countless details, I already carried this environmental concept within me, reflected in all my shots and in the search for new ones. Every time I travel, I carry a perspective attuned to all ongoing projects. Every time I review my images, I draw on my experience to develop the visual language to its fullest potential.