The photographs of Domingo Milella have the rigor of topographical works. Each landscape is chosen for an attribute that makes it a type, a piece of historical evidence documenting the process of domestic development. In each image, the different times coexist and merge. His view of the Square of the Three Cultures in Mexico City could be renamed “The Square of Three Periods”: there is the monolith of the 1960s on the edge of the image, the 13th-century Aztec foundations at the center, and the 17th-century temple standing before a linear white building.
By allowing each of these structures to stand out clearly, Milella reveals what his focus is. He combines the different stages of development, evident in the natural and architectural monuments, with distinct times. And these elements progressively reveal new times which remain hidden in less obvious geometries: the dotted color lines drawn by cars and, on the horizon, the curves of age-old mountains.
We can apply this landscape study to each image. In Italy as in Turkey, the different time periods blend together, sharing their shapes, colors and spaces in the troglodyte landscapes of Turkey and the village of Polignano a Mare in Italy. It is the stone, natural, carved or eroded, that first gives an indication of time. A contemplative look at each photograph reveals new geometries, new periods, new histories, to infinity. This elusive nature of landscapes is what make them fascinating, especially Milella’s.
Laurence Cornet
Exposition jusqu’au 26 janvier 2013
ARTIST TALK: Domingo Milella in conversation with Francesco Zanot
Wednesday 23 January. Please contact the gallery to RSVP.
Galerie Brancolini Grimaldi
43 – 44 Albemarle Street
First floor (above Post Office)
London W1S 4JJ
United Kingdom
T +44 (0)20 7493 5721
