RAWGUE.’s long-time contributor Antonio Conte is an Italian artist currently dividing his time between Germany and the Czech Republic, experimenting with gritty, heavily contrasted digital photography.
It took some time for him to readjust before his creativity, patience, and inspiration kicked in. “Eventually, after one month [since the move to Germany], I got the courage to grab the camera and point it at the streets,” the photographer explains.
The wait proved fruitful, as it resulted in an ever-growing series of meaningful shots that purposefully combine leisure with concept and inspired framing. Improvisation and vision merge into a quiet and circus-like “accidental baroque,” capturing street merchants showcasing their craft, passersby on their way to their destinations, and children caught up in their play.
These are vanishing moments that are seen as more important than they normally are, but just as important as they should be.
The new series of photographs from the city of Bonn emerged from an artistic struggle. “Since I moved to Germany, I had the feeling that street photography was more difficult to cultivate,” shares Conte.
The result of the new environment is a contrasting and somewhat withdrawn version of street photography. Muted colors, a cumbersome atmosphere, and isolated subjects seem to mimic the feeling of finding one’s way in a new place. There is also an air of effortlessness in these frames. The photographer doesn’t know yet where the streets around him lead; he is just strolling through them, capturing timeless scenes for the first time.
Read our “Roots” issue in full
The new theme, born as usual from what the submitted works held in common, is “ROOTS.” Within its pages, we present the artworks, creativity, and inspiration of 60 visual artists and writers from 21 countries around the world. Their diverse voices come together around a shared exploration of the return to where one belongs, the invisible threads of tradition that shape identity, and the ongoing reconnection with nature, others, and oneself.
We’re a team of writers using our craft to spotlight art in its most honest form. RAWGUE. started as a bi-monthly editorial experiment where each issue’s theme is dictated by the submitted work, thus removing editorial bias from the equation and preserving a more raw approach. We focus on all forms of poetry: written, photographed, painted, drawn, and filmed.
