Oltremare Studio

Oltremare Studio is a video focusing on the fragile landscape between the provinces of Vibo Valentia and Reggio Calabria, investigating the intersection of its geological history, human migration and the movements of water that have shaped both the land and its inhabitants. The region, once submerged by the sea, is today scattered with fossils of extinct marine species preserved in cliffs of white sand, which make the effects of environmental change tangible and create a visual connection with the movements of human migration. Oltremare Studio starts from the artist’s personal history and from that of the territory, marked by waves of emigration, first to Argentina and then to northern Italy. Through a series of recorded conversations, in particular with the artist’s father, the video examines the emotional landscapes of departure, moving between nostalgia, the wish to cross one’s own boundaries and the wider utopia of progress that has driven local politics. With particular emphasis on young people, at the moment when many begin to think about leaving home, the video unfolds visually between vast views of white quarries rich in fossils, the industrial port of Gioia Tauro, inland landscapes and sea views, domestic interiors and people on the move.