venice backstage

There is hardly a city in the world as widely photographed and depicted as Venice. These images serve as representations of what there is to see: from Canaletto’s magnificent paintings to the millions of daily smartphone snapshots, and the superimposed "inner" image of the lagoon city—an image shaped by countless films, works of literature, and stories. And playing in the background: Vivaldi. Over and over again. Almost everyone knows this city; nowhere is a sense of decay as beautiful as it is along the Grand Canal. Yet, the motifs, locations, angles, and occasions are always the same! With or without sunsets or fog: St. Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace, the Rialto, palazzi, masks, Carnival—and, of course, gondolas, lots of gondolas. So why add even more images to the pile? My intention: No gondolas (well, maybe just one...), no tourist sights, hardly any people. Instead, I focus on views of Venice in "operational mode"—the back alleys, the routes to work, the "palazzi" where the few remaining employees of the Venice "showroom" actually live, the broom closets and courtyards, the harbor, the university, the bunkers, and the like. These are things any reasonably observant visitor sees, yet rarely shares on Facebook. I love Venice—including the "on-stage" version with its gondolas and palazzi—but the "show" is only real and complete when the "backstage" is included. self-published 2019 230 x 300 mm 136 pages, 102 images hardcover edition of 100 copies