Views from an Uncertain Margin – Reversed Rome

A project by Giuseppe Moccia

Curated by Chiara Capodici

The exhibition is part of the program of events coordinated by the Biennale dell'immagine, “Borderlines. Divided Cities / Plural Cities.”

Biennale dell'immagine

Giuseppe Moccia (Naples, 1978), after earning a degree in Economic and Social Sciences from Bocconi University in Milan, decided to devote himself to photography and continued his training at the International Center of Photographyin New York. His work has received important international recognition, including the “Flash Forward” award from the Magenta Foundation (Canada) and the “PhotoEspaña – OjodePez Human Values Award” for the project The Wednesday Kid. In addition to participating in public art projects such as Eco e Narciso and Iconica, his works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in several countries, including Italy, Spain, France, England, and the United States. Developed over long periods of time, his projects address contemporary themes through a documentary language.

Beginning in 2013, Giuseppe Moccia undertook a photographic survey of the Roman territory, a new chapter in his broader investigation into the transformations of the Italian man-made landscape. Views from an Uncertain Margin – Reversed Rome, curated by Chiara Capodici, focuses on border areas — layered landscapes generated through the overlap and subtraction of urban and rural identities.

“Moccia’s photographs are the result of long observation and many kilometers traveled on foot. His is a journey through the stories and geographies of a city whose transformations began in 1870, when the large estates of the Roman landowning aristocracy and the ecclesiastical axis were incorporated into the municipal territory. From the borgate to historic agricultural estates, from newly developed construction areas to suburbs that wedge themselves into the heart of the Eternal City, these photographs tell us of a constant dialogue between the city and what lies along its increasingly blurred borders — a metaphor for a way of living that extends across the entire national territory.

Drawing inspiration from the study of maps, particularly the agropedological map connected to the drafting of the latest Master Plan of 2008, Views from an Uncertain Margin – Reversed Rome begins from perspectives overturned in relation to a central vision: peripheral views, ‘urban voids,’ places difficult to define and often situated at the edge between urban and rural spaces. These contribute to defining a Rome that is at once singular and multiple, and to helping us better understand where we live.

For Giuseppe Moccia, the observation and contemplation of places are the primary tools for understanding territory and for acquiring the positive awareness that change is possible.”

— Chiara Capodici