LORO

LORO, a book-container rich in different levels of interpretation, houses Luca Marianaccio's photographic work, which explores the phenomenon of UFOs and UAPs in Italy in an imaginative and poetic way.

Italy, 1933. This is where the journey that Loro recounts begins, from the first events for which there is still no ‘conventional’ explanation, from ambiguous phenomena involving sightings of non-terrestrial objects and beings. Luca Marianaccio’s photography narrates the stories of the witnesses with an anthropological and non-judgmental approach, bringing out the inner world of these protagonists through chromatic and formal analogies, capturing through the medium of photography the change that the encounter with an unknown dimension has produced in ‘them’. Just as information and mystery have combined in different ways in recent years in stories related to UFOs and UAPs, Loro combines past and ‘present’ events, artefacts and chance discoveries, direct references to the world of ufology and suggestions drawn from the artist’s personal sensibility.

There are two possibilities:
either we are alone in the universe, or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.

Arthur Charles Clarke

The project

The author Luca Marianaccio explains its intention as follows: ‘LORO does not claim to provide definitive answers to the mystery of extraterrestrial life, but rather to fuel debate and stimulate reflection on a topic that has fascinated humanity since ancient times. The invitation is to keep an open mind and explore with courage and critical thinking the infinite possibilities that the universe offers us.’

The graphic design and layout of the book highlight the different levels of interpretation offered by Loro: while Luca Marianaccio’s photographic narrative and original point of view constitute the main narrative, the inserts and the final part of the volume contain graphic and informative content, contributing to the creation of the reader’s own original point of view. Loro is therefore an active work, which encourages the reader to explore and speculate, both in its form and in its content.

The volume is enriched by contributions from Michele Paparella, founder of the Pugliese Ufology Group, and Paolo Cagnoni, journalist, in order to frame the phenomenon of UFOs or UAPs within the contemporary socio-cultural context, maintaining a broad and unbiased perspective. In this way, Loro is not only a photographic work of visual value, but also an attempt to explore to explore a phenomenon that is still open to debate.

The photographic project is among the winners of the international competition PEP – Photographic Exploration Project, featured in the collective exhibition Other Spaces at the Bpart gallery in Berlin (10 May 2024 – 7 June 2024). It is also on the shortlist of various international competitions.

The publication of Loro is enriched by 50 limited edition copies, which include a 50x62.5 cm fine art print of one of the photographs contained in the book, stamped, numbered and signed by the author with a certificate of authenticity.

AUTHOR

Luca Marianaccio

Born in Agnone (IS) in 1986, trained as an architect, he is an artist who also expresses himself through photography. Winner of the 18th Aldo Nascimben Prize in Treviso, the Young Artists Prize at the Galleria San Fedele in Milan, Unpublished Photo 2019 at the 29 Arts In Progress Gallery, the 1st Giovanni Gargiolli National Photography Prize, at REFOCUS 2 curated by MUFOCO, MiBact and Triennale Milano, at the TIP Emerging Talent Competition in London and is one of the FRESH EYES TALENT 2022 curated by GUP Magazine. His book Spin-off received a special mention at the Marco Bastianelli Prize in Rome and at the Unveil’d Photobook Award in London in 2018. His work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions.

Loro will be available in selected bookshops and on major online retailers from 10 May 2024.