Out of the stump rot, something
Benedetta Casagrande
Commissioned in 2025 by Fotografia Città della Pieve, the body of work Out of the stump rot, something explores the nonhuman makeup of the local land, looking at the web of relationships between plants, animals, bacteria, minerals and waterways that define the territory and thrive within it. While traditionally photography has played a fundamental role in the visual mapping of space as a method of orientation and, consequently, of control and surveillance, Out of the stump rot, something is composed of microscopic visions and slippages between species, places and materials in which geographical and material boundaries dissolve, giving shape to a disorienting, autonomous and vital nature. Harvesting clay, foraging plants and crafting night-time rituals in the fireplace, Out of the stump rot, something is comprised of artworks made in collaboration with the nonhuman inhabitants of the territory through various printing methods: soil chromatographies, anthotypes, lumen prints, silver gelating prints developed in plant-based developer and piezography. The body of work borrows its title by the homonymous poem by Mary Oliver.
Cover linocut print by Leonardo Falascone
Text by Mary Oliver
Each copy is stamped, signed and numbered.