Category Archives: Project beam

New project and book: In the Tunnel of Love (Klevan, Ukraine)

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[cml_media_alt id='2286']Photo: "In the Tunnel Of Love" #23 - © Marco Ristuccia[/cml_media_alt]

“In the Tunnel Of Love” #23 – © Marco Ristuccia

In the Tunnel of Love

When speaking of Ukraine most people immediately think of war, poverty and social problems. – The more I was intrigued when I looked up lists on the internet of the most romantic destinations in the world and always found a place in Ukraine on top: the Tunnel of Love. With the intent of investigating this internet hype I went there for a month in June 2017 together with my partner and journalist Christine.

The idyllic Tunnel of Love, a 4 km long arched canopy in northwestern Ukraine between the villages of Klevan and Orzhiv, was created in a joint collaboration with nature and man. After a wood factory was founded in Orzhiv in 1870, a single-track railway connection was built through the dense forest to Klevan’s main railway station, where timber continues to be reloaded and transported away to different countries. Depending on the schedule, a loaded train puffs through the forest at a leisurely pace several times daily, from the wood factory to the railway station and back again when empty. Often enough to gently force the branches of the trees along the track into an arch shape, rare enough to allow romantic couples and curious strollers to take long walks on the tracks and enjoy nature in an otherwise untouched state, a sort of fairytale world.
But even such a peaceful place cannot keep reality out: a Ukrainian military base, where defective tanks and weapons are repaired and made ready for use again, is hidden deep in the forest. The station has also been using the Tunnel of Love for a long time to protect her freightage from prying eyes. Some locals even claim that the tunnel has been well preserved only because of military interests.

A book about the Tunnel and its contradictory history, its people and the sometimes funny side of romance will be published soon.

Link to the first chapter of our book (a reportage):
http://photography.marcoristuccia.com/portfolio/ucraine-tunnel-love/

Reportage photos: © Marco Ristuccia
Reportage text: © Christine Roth

Bee Generation

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Piaggio Ape 501 - Salvatore Diamante - Gardener

Piaggio Ape 501 – Salvatore Diamante – Gardener

This project shows a world whose roots lie in my childhood spent in Sicily, the place where I was born. It’s about one of the most precarious categories of workers who try to survive from day to day by making a living without the certainty of tomorrow. They are street vendors, farm hands, smiths, and other small artisans and workers who still represent an important working class, particularly in South Italy, that is largely affected by the current crisis and in general by globalization. Read more →

Experimenting with Mobile Photography

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A lot of debates about mobile photography are still ongoing. Recently I read an article written by an Italian journalist, Roberto Cotroneo, who defines himself as an intellectual, writer and poet. In this article he nostalgically (and also pathetically) criticizes the alleged poor quality of the new mobile means and softwares. Continue reading →

One, No One and One Hundred Thousand

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UNC #01 - © Marco RistucciaPhoto: UNC #01 – © Marco Ristuccia

Today I would like to present to you a project that I realized in 2011 along the Po Valley, close to Milan (Italy). Its name and the concept itself came to my mind from the ideas inside the book “One, No One and One Hundred Thousand”, a masterpiece of the Sicilian writer Luigi Pirandello. I elaborated those ideas and created a personal interpretation that stands behind this photo project. Continue reading →

The Sacred and the Profane

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Image 01

With this article I’d like to let to you know something about Sicily (Italy), my land of birth. And I will do this by presenting one of my preferred projects, The Sacred and the Profane, shot in 2010 in Palermo, the capital city of this sunny island. Even though I was there only for a couple of weeks (I lived on the opposite side of Sicily) I still remember those times as a wonderful and colorful dream. There would be much to say about Sicily, its beautiful sea, its great landscapes and its friendly people, but I prefer to let images speak for themselves by showing part of this tale. Continue reading →