A Ray of Light, explained
Infrared Photography + mixedmedia painting
How does pictorial art collimates within infrared photography?
“One sees clearly only with heart; the essential is invisible to the eye, because heart is Light”
Cit. Alberto Ballocca x Paolo Pettigiani
This incredible union of techniques gave the two artists, by the way, both based in the same city (Turin), the possibility of having and providing to collectors two distinct works, eradicated from a single essential source; light.
Our five senses are limited by nature and, precisely for this reason, Infrared technology of Paolo Pettigiani has come to their rescue, as implement and support to the creative act of the mixedmedia painter Alberto Ballocca.
Over the years, use of infrared photography has seen various applications, ranging from the military to the medicine, science, archeology ones.
Infrared examination of the ground allows researchers to determine presence of materials with different densities in the subsoil, thanks to the detection of light spectrum and the relative chromatic differences given by the chemical elements inside them that react to light.
For this collaboration, Alberto and Paolo, seem to have been attracted by by an archaeological discovery, which took place by means of infrared sensing in Egypt;
In the lost city of Tanis, 17 Egyptian pyramids have been discovered with Infrared
Infrared examination of the soil in the area of the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis has allowed researchers to determine the presence of materials with different densities in the subsoil.
The same thing happens for the infrared photography taken by Paolo on the surface of the painting made by Alberto, made with the superimposition of different layers and each layer is a medium.
Perception and reality are two distinct acts.
How we perceive the world around us depends on experiences and a willingness to be open to new ideas.
Human eye can see wavelengths from about 400 nanometers to 720 nm (let’s say, the classic rainbow)
Infrared wavelength is light that ‘exists’ over 720 nm.
Leaves and organic vegetation contain pigments such as chlorophyll, which absorb most of the blue and red range of visible light, but strongly reflect green and infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye.
That’s why, once the composition was completed, organic chlorophyll extracted from aromatic plants was applied to the support of ‘A Ray of Light’.
Wall paint, ochra dyes’ layers, acrylics and graphite blended in a splash of abstraction that surrounds and welcomes a scomposition of a pharaonic face drawn on paper, cut out and then glued onto the canvas.
We are now allowed to observe taking on the infrared red hue on the support!
An emulation, as well as union, of some mythological factors linked to some of the recent discoveries of the great ancient Egypt and a targeted and precise use of this photographic technique.
The gem placed on the left side of the center acts as a prism. Rainbow on the right represents the light spectrum visible to our eye.
Light is represented by the layer of organic chlorophyll extracted from the plant and applied on the surface, which from green turns into red.
Accessing this world of *paradoxically invisible light that actually exists, together with the instant of Paolo’s shot, has therefore allowed us to emulate the mythological factor as well as the power of the ancient Egyptian deity ‘Rha’; light that allows us to observe invisible worlds within ourselves.
A painting and a photograph coming from an ancient ‘Ray of Light’
