Francesco Amorosino

Fantastic Voyage

Almostevery day the discovery of new exoplanets is announced, making it clear that our solar system is not something special, but one among many, a small dot in a huge universe.Yet there is something that has made us unique so far: life. We are exploring the cosmos, we are aiming ever more powerful telescopes in its dark depths in search of answers, first of all: are we alone?The astronomer and astrophysicist Frank Drake thought it impossible, and in 1961 he formulated his famous equation.

Thissequence of parameters allows us to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations given the size of the known universe. As a result, it is impossible for the Earth to be the only planet to have developed life. But then, citing the paradox of the physicist Enrico Fermi, “if they exist why are they not hereyet?”.Somehypotheses include the difficulty of developing an intelligent civilization, the difficulty of traveling in space, the fear of being attacked by others or the tendency to self-destruct before being able to colonize space.

A depressing scenario.There are no photos of exoplanets, but only the attestation of their presence obtained from analyzes on the difference in intensity of their stars. We owe the available images above all to the artists’ imagery.In Fantastic Voyage Francesco Amorosino pays homage to space, science fiction and the beauty of life on Earth. The artist mixes the discoveries of NASA with the stories of Isaac Asimov and creates entire solar systemswith only … fruitand vegetables.Similar to aerial photographs, these shots frame objects such as peaches, tomatoes, eggplants that transform into mysterious planets and surfaces to explore.

The images sometimes seem to come from inside the human body, creating a link between micro and macro cosmos, paying homage to the film Fantastic Voyage from which the title of the work is taken.The project consists of a series of photographs and a video art work created in collaboration with the composer Stefano G. Falcone.

In the video we can follow the personal journey of a hypothetical astronaut in the exploration of various planets in search of life.Whether or not it is positive to find other intelligent creatures in space is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, we must not forget to turn our gaze to the beauty of our planet because even the humblest fruit is truly extraordinary.

Bio

Born in 1984, I live in Rome, where I work as a photographer, visual artist and educator. I manage my research space “il FotoStudio” where I organize exhibitions and courses. In 2016 I won the Sony World Photography Awards in still life category. In my works, I’m interested in investigating people’s perception of realitythrough themes such as mystery and the supernatural, but also conspiracies and mechanisms of power. In 2021 my personal exhibition “The Forest and the Stars” took place at the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrade, Serbia.