Procida 2022, three great photographers for an SOS: this is how the sea “responds” to pollution. From August 4 to December 31 at the port of Marina Chiaiolella with “Watersurface”.
From August 4th to December 31st at the port of Marina Chiaiolella with “Watersurface” the exhibition of the extraordinary shots of three great underwater photographers: Nicholas Samaras, Pasquale Vassallo and Guido Villani. To encourage a change of direction
There is a jellyfish that captures, with its tentacles, the wrapper of a chocolate. Another does the same with a cotton swab. An octopus, which has become famous, plays with a soccer ball, a cuttlefish – intrigued – does the same with a condom. And then there is the iconic shot of the pandemic period: a seahorse clings to a disposable mask. The relationship between marine organisms and waste inspires a photographic exhibition of extraordinary impact, “Watersurface”, as part of the cultural program of Procida Italian Capital of Culture 2022.
Starting from Thursday 4th August (opening at 19.00pm, in the presence of the authors) and until 31st December, the shots of three internationally renowned underwater photographers – Nicholas Samaras, Pasquale Vassallo and Guido Villani – launch, through an exhibition itinerary on the pier of Marina Chiaiolella, in Procida – an appeal for the fight against plastic pollution that is plaguing the seas and oceans of the entire world.
“By 2025, the oceans will contain one ton of plastic for every three tonnes of fish, and by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish.. – explains Agostino Riitano, director of Procida 2022 – In the Pacific Ocean, between California and Hawaii, a 1,6 million km2 plastic island floats, more than 400.000 times the surface area of the island of Procida. According to Legambiente's 'Beach Litter' research, the Mediterranean has approximately 100 pieces of waste for every 670 linear meters of coastline. Plastic represents 95% of waste in the open sea: 134 species including fish, birds, turtles and marine mammals are victims of plastic ingestion. With this large photographic exhibition, which fits well with the meaning of our dossier, we are sending a strong and clear message for the protection of marine ecosystems and the entire planet".
Hence the idea of telling the adaptive responses of fish and molluscs to the new environmental conditions linked to the Anthropocene: images of surprising effectiveness and great impact (three meters high), also taken in the Gulf of Naples, which will run for 50 meters along the pier of the port of Chiaiolella, contributing significantly to the regeneration of one of its areas.
“With our shots, taken around the world, we tell the daily risks that marine species run due to man and our impact with the hope that the resilience of some species does not reduce our sense of responsibility towards the environment”, explains Pasquale Vassallo, already awarded with the prestigious “Plongeur dʼOr” (Marseille, 2011) and “The Underwater Photographer of the Year” Marine Conservation (London, 2020).
Exhibiting with him are Guido Villani, a marine biologist at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry of the CNR in Pozzuoli, who has participated in numerous underwater sampling and photographic documentation campaigns in the Mediterranean and in various foreign countries, and Nicholas Samaras, one of the most passionate and committed underwater photographers in the world. His love and dedication to the sea and its creatures, together with his characteristic effort to bring out the beauty of the marine world with a unique aesthetic, have made him establish himself in a very short period of time both in Greece and abroad, with important awards (including the GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year and the Ocean Photography Awards) and collaborations with National Geographic, BBC Wildlife and Scuba Diving.
Article published on 3 August 2022 - 15:20
