Ettore Moni
The Parma based photographer filling cultural voids and creating unheard narratives
Ettore Moni came to us with one of the most remarkable submissions we’ve received. In sending us a number of images from his recent series, An Empty Valley, he invited us to hear a story we’d so far been missing out on. In the heart of the Apuan Alps, marble quarriers live almost secluded from the rest of Italy, and while their narrative rarely reaches the mainstream media, Ettore has documented not only incredibly personal images of the quarriers themselves, but also the stunning landscapes in which they find themselves.
Ettore almost reverses the destruction of the landscapes, turning the vistas into zones of raw, natural beauty. What was once an untouched scene is thus almost all the more beautiful as a result of man’s influence. He tells us that he tries only to photograph things which stimulate his imagination; falling in love with projects as he realises his multitude of ideas photographically, many of which had seemed so disparate mentally. To do this, the dark, brooding atmosphere that is imbued throughout An Empty Valley is strictly analogue – Ettore is very keen to ensure the only use of a computer is to scan his self-developed prints.
Having been influenced notably by the work of Richard Avedon (but also the abundance of photography books he collects), Ettore builds on the style of others but makes his own, distinct impression too. This skill is a result of his work in fashion photography, in Milan and New York, and his time at the Instituto d’Arte Paolo Toschi di Parma, all of which taught him to deftly utilise natural light to his will.
The real talent in Ettore’s work is his effortless capturing of domestic voids. Whether it be an architectural and anthropological exposition of the River Po in Case Sospese, or the starkly ghostlike nature in Market – two further series we urge you to check out via the link below – Ettore is attracted to, and delivers, the “abandonment and bleakness left by men”.
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
An Empty Valley
