Recurring Italian photographer Elena Santino comes back to the pages of our magazine with a new earthy, organic photography series.
“In the series I am presenting, my attention is drawn to the skin of the external world: here, nature is not a passive subject but a speaking texture. I seek the tension vibrating within a fraying fence, in the sculptural geometry of a pruned trunk, or in the fractal patterns of weathered wood. These are all variations of that same ‘broken mesh’ I have always pursued: physical openings that become conceptual thresholds,” explains Santino.
She focuses on naturally occurring imperfections and contrasts, as well as the impermanence of nature’s creations. The ephemerality of her subjects juxtaposed with photo immortalization creates a certain vacuum, a space for poetry to slip in. The fragility and defiance of organic materials, the yin and yang of nature, are gently depicted thanks to Santino’s unique sensibility. “In these photographs, the gaze has become more tactile, focusing on matter that resists and cracks,” the artist mentions.
Santino’s conceptual work brings together overlooked details of nature and the environment without much, if any, human intervention. Favoring monochrome, the photographer focuses her lens on the discarded and the eroded, drawing attention to aspects that people would not normally glance at twice.
She explains, “I photograph these details not to document them but to inhabit a space of uncertainty, where form sheds its original function and becomes pure trace. In this gap between what appears intact and what reveals its fragility, an alternative reality emerges, one that is quieter and more authentic. It is the confirmation that the ordinary, if observed with enough persistence, never ceases to open up and suggest new meanings.”
Through a clever and experimental combination of textures and symmetry, the photographer views nature with a level of optimism, showing where life can sprout again from rot and decay. Out of disarray and a lack of order, she reminds viewers that imperfection holds just as much beauty as perfection.
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.
