Sara Benaglia Explores Photography's Material Ecology in New Book 'Immagini infestate'

Sara Benaglia, a visual researcher and essayist born in Bergamo in 1983, has published a new book titled 'Immagini infestate. Ecologie tossiche della fotografia' with Mimesis in 2026. The publication examines photography through an ecological lens, focusing on its material composition and ongoing transformation. Benaglia argues that photographic images should be understood not merely as visual representations but as physical entities made from chemical and geological components like silver, salts, paper, petroleum, plastics, and mined minerals. She critiques traditional photographic theory for overemphasizing meaning and representation while neglecting the concrete materiality of images. Her approach draws from media ecology and media archaeology to analyze photography as a historical assemblage of techniques, materials, and infrastructures in constant flux. Benaglia serves as curator at BACO in Bergamo and teaches art history at NABA in Milan and LABA in Brescia. She writes for publications including 'ATPdiary,' 'Doppiozero,' and 'Art e Dossier.' Her previous books include 'Note ai margini della storia dell'arte' (2023), 'Le insidie delle immagini' (2022, with Mauro Zanchi), and 'Metafotografia' (2019-2021). In her latest work, she explores how photographic images persist and transform over time, challenging conventional notions of photographic stability and conservation. She discusses the tension between photography's technical evolution and institutional preservation, noting that digital platforms and artificial intelligence are shifting visual production while museums continue to celebrate photography as historical heritage. Benaglia references thinkers like Jane Bennett and Joanna Zylinska to support her material-focused perspective. The book also addresses legal implications for copyright and conservation practices when photographs are understood as unstable material processes rather than fixed objects.