This book is the result of the artistic work of Alessandra Calò, who gathers and saves from oblivion a series of negatives depicting portraits of women without any biographical indication.
Inspired by herbariums and by the constant search for themes relevant to the “feminine,” the artist creates arboreal visions through those negatives, symbolizing the secret garden hidden inside of each one of us. Each portrait acquires a new identity thanks to the involvement of contemporary female authors who were invited by the artist to write a short story inspired by one of those unknown figures.
The book is an intimate diary with great present-day relevance, made up of reality and imagination, where the emphasis is not on a clear and faithful reading anchored in the image, but rather social themes tied to the female figure and to the evolution of its changing condition through time. The structure of the book mirrors the sense of the project, hiding gardens, symbols of the feminine universe, within double-bound pages. In its limited edition (ten copies), a box holds the book and one of the original negatives, depicting one of those anonymous women, portrayed in a garden.
Erik Kessels pens the introduction, considering the book «a unique work, which leaves to everyone the possibility of imagining its conclusion.»
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