Kenro Izu's Requiem for Pompei at Fondazione Modena Arti Visive

Fondazione Modena Arti Visive ‒ MATA presents Requiem for Pompei, a solo exhibition of 55 unpublished photographs by Japanese artist Kenro Izu (Osaka, 1949), curated by Chiara Dall’Olio and Daniele De Luigi. The project began in 2015 in collaboration with Fondazione Fotografia Modena and focuses on the ancient city of Pompeii, destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The exhibition includes copies of plaster casts of eruption victims. Izu donated the works to the foundation. In an interview, Izu explains his long-standing interest in photographing ancient sites from Egypt to Easter Island, driven by a desire to capture the power of places of prayer. He describes his relationship with Pompeii as a warning for contemporary times, noting that the casts of victims convey the suddenness of natural disasters and man-made catastrophes such as nuclear explosions—a theme resonant for him as a native of the only country to have suffered atomic bombing. Izu aims to freeze time in his photographs, often depicting monuments in states of decay or flowers wilting to show transience. He considers the human casts essential to the series, as they bring the human presence back to the ruins.