Stefano Nicolini
2009
A Victory or a Defeat
[Swimming Pools (Piscine)]

Colour slide 35 mm, printed on Hahnemuehle Baryta paper
70 x 70 cm
 
Provided by the artist - Stefano Nicolini
The position of the two humanoid swimmers creates this mirrored image overflowing with unawareness. The two athletes are expressionless as they look at each other without actually doing so. They simply move forward unthinkingly with their profiles stripped of their muscles and feelings, like all the protagonists of the first series, Automi [Automatons].
 
The title of the photograph Vittoria o Sconfitta [A Victory or a Defeat] does not have a question mark wanting to indicate the equivalence of the two conditions which belong to a similar unthinking dimension. This dimension is emphasized by the absence of a temporal collocation of the image which in turn is emphasized by the lack of expressiveness both of the protagonists and of the background.
 
Vittoria o Sconfitta [A Victory or a Defeat] is such a recurring experience in our contemporary society! It is when you work towards a goal only to discover that your energy and/or feelings are on automatic pilot and that you do not feel the goal as being yours anymore. Sometimes you discover this feeling only once you've reached the aim. At that point, it is no longer a victory and you can actually consider it a defeat.
 
The perfect symmetry of the image, the parallelism of the lanes and that of the swimmers, the square format which transforms the rectangle of the swimming pool into a ring, and the homogenous diffusion of the light leaving no point of reference, all contribute to form the disorientating, irrational and mirrored situation of a challenge. A challenge with one's own self, the one and only non-imaginary opponent of our existence.
 
Stefano Nicolini (July 2010)
 
LL/37542