I was born in 1979 and belong to Generation X, a generation suspended between the analog and digital worlds, raised in an era of technological transition that redefined the way we perceive and tell the world. I started with disposable film cameras, then moved on to digital compacts, digital reflex, smartphone, Polaroid, projector. My artistic pursuit is tied to visions that seek to go beyond mere representation of reality. A photograph can show not only what is visible but also reveal what remains hidden: emotions, impressions, invisible connections. I love to experiment. Portraiture and landscapes are my preferred territories, yet every image is, in essence, an opportunity for exploration. Light is the true subject of my photography: through it, I construct, shape, and deconstruct the image. Shadows and reflections become tools of visual storytelling, elements to play with and use to fragment reality. I seek balance in framing, in the blend of colors, and in composition, but I also consciously embrace dissonance, the unexpected, the ordinary, the grotesque. For me, the photographic act is a state of being in the "here and now," made possible only through total immersion in the present moment. My photography is complete when it has the power to speak, to evoke, to raise questions, or to suggest meanings. When it frees itself from the individual and becomes universal, a voice for a collective consciousness in constant transformation. The harmony between ethics and aesthetics, the synthesis of the figurative and the conceptual, the use of visual metaphors and unexpected associations define my signature. In my life, photography is a continuous dialogue between artistic and existential experience.
Stefano Marino, 2025
