MLRMirella La Rosa

Fine Art Photographer

ABOUT MY WORK:

The artistic expression leads me to reflect on the mystery of reality, on its relativity, on invisible worlds which, with my images, I want to make visible through the language of emotion.

My starting point is almost always the observation of nature and its forms; I photograph details of environments such as woods, bodies of water, seascapes or submarines. Each form recalls in my imagination other more or less known forms; I use the overlapping of multiple shots or the "mirrored" repetition of the same image, to amplify the visual effect through which free associations and intuitions are activated in our mind that recall the sphere of the unconscious and spirituality; in fact, I start from the assumption that the Energy that dominates us and that is within us is manifested through the harmony of creation, as the Buddhist mandalas from which I sometimes draw inspiration suggest.

I follow a similar procedure in my "introspective" works in which I develop the theme of self-portrait by merging the image of my body with elements of nature to express particular feelings and emotional states, using photography as a therapy to achieve greater awareness of myself.

To deepen the issues that are close to my heart I also love to experiment with different techniques such as the combination of painting and photography and the material manipulation of the emulsions of instant development films (polaroids).

I feel close to authors like Jerry Uelsmann and Minor White, precisely because of their way of using photography to convey messages that transcend the effect and immediate meaning of a real image. With Uelsmann I share above all the process through which the photographic shots represent a starting point to give life, through their combination, to surreal visions. In my case, however, the emotional and instinctive aspect in the genesis of the work tends to prevail over the conscious use a priori of precise symbols and dreamlike metaphors. With Minor White my point of contact is definitely the sense of magic, spiritual and poetic research through the use of the photographic image, the search for abstraction through the forms of nature.

My goal is to push the viewer to look at the world around us with different eyes, with an open gaze to grasp its mystery through the freedom of the imagination, which is also the key to entering more deeply into ourselves.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES:

I live and work in Venice, where I was born in 1958. I obtained a degree in Humanities at the University of Ca' Foscari with a thesis on the History of Cinema. I have been dedicated for over twenty years to creative photography and artistic expression in a broad sense.

From 2009 to 2016 I participated in workshops with the photographers Claude Nori, Franco Fontana, Pieter Ten Hoopen, Roberto Salbitani. In 2010 I received mention for my work portfolio presented at the Epson Le Logge competition on the occasion of the Tuscany Photo Festival at Massa Marittima.

My photographs are part of public collections such as the Historical Photographic Archive of the Civic Gallery of Modena and the National Archive of the Photographic Self-Portrait of Senigallia.

Some of my shots were selected by FIAF (Italian Federation of Photographic Associations) for the Girofile Veneto-Photo of the Year competition in 2013 and 2014.

I have exhibited my photographic works in personal and collective exhibitions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONS:

Interview with Mirella La Rosa by Nicola Bustreo published on “Fotopadova” in September 2016

Review of the work "Water Emotions" edited by Fausto Raschiatore published on “Photologies - Selected pages of contemporary photography“ in "Author Profiles" in January 2014

www.lensculture.com/mirella-la-rosa