The memory of an atlas

In Thorax by Paolo Gioli, we encounter figures captured
by the photosensitive emulsions, they are
broken up and violated by light. Transfigured by this
“luminous contact”, their anatomies seem to surface
in the photographs and films. Limbs and torsos
display martyrdoms and depositions. Bodies and
limbs become burning ghosts. We are on the border
between references to classical statuary, Renaissance
and Baroque painting and references to the tradition
of early twentieth century avant-garde. The
Archive of Memory houses a wide selection of
voices and cultural echoes, as in Aby Warburg’s Atlas.