Davide Esposito

Country where you live:

Italy

City where you live:

Anacapri

Website:

https://davide-esposito.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/davidecapri/

Statement :

I’m a fine art photographer, producing images that have deep roots in symbolism. I was drawn to visual arts from a very young age, precisely the first time I looked up at Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach's paintings in our local museum when I was just a child. I had a burning desire to look for those visions within reality.

In my 20s, I had a revelation in a dream, which came to me as a voice out of the void: "If death has no meaning, how can life have any?". With this, my exploration of what's beyond reality started.

Inspired by masters of the past, such as Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach, I continue their legacy with a contemporary twist.

With my images I explore the enigma of identity – the primordial need of being. Questioning reality has become the essence of my work, with themes of identity and existentialism that run as a thin thread in conversation between me and the viewer.

The exploration of existentialism through my photography raises fundamental questions about the nature of life. Often portraying nature and juxtapositional elements to nature, the questions with my images remain the same – what is our place in this world and where does the Truth lie?

This is how my search for a metaphysical realm within reality started. It is also the reason why I specifically chose photography so many years ago – to look for the invisible within reality while being present.

The images I seek and the vision I have are realized bending reality through my lens. This approach closely connects to my artistic process and technique. All of my images are realized on the field, with minimal post-processing.

Most of my projects are shot at night, this is the time when darkness unveils the unseen – what lies beneath reality.

My images explore places and spaces where time doesn’t just stop but does not exist at all.

Phantom of God

This image represent the shadow of the creator and is the opening artwork of my project “On the Third Day”. This project is a symbolist narration of Genesis that explores the moment reality detached from the realm of metaphysics, creating its own boundary in space/time. The images represent the creation of the planet Earth and Humankind. The story is a dream about Genesis, whispered in the deepest nights on the shores of a mysterious island. The portrayal of Genesis illustrates how the light shapes the sky, the rocks and the oceans. “On the Third Day” is entirely shot at night. This lighting allows me to shape reality, focusing on how to achieve my vision in camera. This approach closely connects to my artistic process and technique. All of my images are realized on the field, with minimal post-processing. This project also explores the unbalanced fight between light and darkness. With the former forever piercing and defeating the latter, but neither of them has meaning without the other, representing the free will God has given us within our consciousness as humans.

Archetype One

This image is the opening artwork of my project "Archetypes". This project is a conceptual body of work that explores the enigma of identity – the primordial need of being – within the spectrum of nature: elements such as rocks, the sea, and the moon are disembodied and isolated as primordial symbols. Entirely shot on the island of Capri, the project “Archetypes” is a deconstruction of the elements of my homeland. This project has deep roots in symbolism that instills doubts on how we observe reality within the boundary of space/time. “Archetypes” outlines the coexistence of this world and the metaphysical realm by portraying nature and juxtapositional elements to nature. All the images are shot at night. Darkness allows me to interpret reality as a painter, creating impossible dialogues between earth and sky, the rocks and shadows: disembodied and isolated as primordial symbols. The images I seek and the vision I have are realized bending reality through my lens. This approach closely connects to my artistic process and technique. All of my images are realized on the field, with minimal post-processing. "Archetypes" discloses visions hidden to the human eye, with images of places and spaces where time doesn’t just stop but it does not exist at all.

Bio:

I carved photography as a path for myself, both artistically and spiritually, when I took up questioning the existence of a metaphysical realm within reality.

I’m Davide Esposito, I was born on December 18, 1987 in Italy. I was raised on the island of Capri, my home, which was to become my first source of inspiration. I was drawn to visual arts from a very young age, exploring the medium of photography on a daily basis became an obsession for me. I formed my own understanding of what was possible within the boundaries of light.

Staying true to this vision, in 2015, I realized my first photography project “Dream of a Shadow”. This marked the start of my path as an artist. After gaining recognition with international contests, I began to take on more complex projects.

With my recent projects, I have been selected for prestigious awards such as C2A Creative Communication Award, Budapest International Foto Awards, Black Spider Awards, and Re-Focus Awards.