'Dalston Anatomy' - Lorenzo Vitturi

Interview by Steve Pill featured in British Journal of Photography
September 2012, volume 160, Issue #7816

'Dalston Anatomy' is a collection of photographs inspired by the bustling Dalston's Ridley Road Market in East London. Vitturi's work often features the vibrant colours found in the market to create visually intriguing pieces that give you a real sense of the different cultures surrounding him.

There are three obvious steps to each of Vitturi's final pieces in the collection. Initially he will seek out something aesthetically vibrant and attractive from the market itself to use as the starting point. In this case the photograph on the right was his inspiration. Occasionally, Vitturi will then embellish prints of his photograph using objects or vivid colour pigments to add another dimension to the work.  He then collects materials; whether it be food or fabric from the market, that relate to the colours and textures visible in the initial photograph and creates temporary sculptures and installations which will only stand for as little as a few minutes. His final piece then becomes a photograph of his work, as this is the only way that the sculpture can be seen for a period of time.

The image on the left is one of the final images produced from his momentary sculptures. Overall, it has a very strong and definite composition which draws the eye straight in to the central part of the sculpture. The strong vibrant colours juxtaposed with the decaying, earthy tones, ignite an exotic and Carribean feel, which then attract the eye to lead out from the centre; particuarly the bold yellow and orange hue's.

Vitturi himself explains that one of the key themes, running throughtout this series of work is "the ephemerality and transcience of life." It is interesting to see a blurring of boundaries within the actual pieces, between the artificial and the natural as well as the new and vibrant in contrast to the decaying.

Overall, Vitturi creates an intriguing, visually pleasing and vibrant collection of images which really capture the essence of Ridley Road Market, and show a consistent process to achieve eyecatching final pieces.