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Elettra Ranno "Labyrinths of Light"

The houses of the ancients were always built based on the position of the sun and the word temple hides in its etymology the wise idea of choosing a portion of the sky to be "cut" and projected on the earth so that the high and low, the spirit and matter may merge into one single harmony. This has a profound meaning and tells us that living in a space does not only signify occupying it, but establishing both a physical and psychological relationship with the environment and investigating the many possibilities that such a relationship implies.
Looking at the plan of an ancient house is proof enough: its like being confronted with a maze constructed not to deceive those who walk through it but as an invitations to walk along inside so as to discover the many unexpected wonders it has to offer.

That this labyrinthine space can be a metaphor of life, is revealed by the photographs of Elettra Ranno. Protagonist herself in a dreamlike journey of great beauty, the photographer becomes both the observer and the beguiling guide, accompanying us on a path that winds among surprises capturing, as it unfolds, a narrative rhythm loaded with poetic cross references. We must look at every detail with new eyes, because a simple window can be opened on a figurative heaven or closed letting blades of light seep through cracks and transmit tenacious vitality to a body beautifully emerging from the darkness. The light touch of a hand is enough for a wall to come to life, for a light to invade the space of liquid colours in an alternation of acid to intense red tones, where darkness is crossed by rippling blue serpentines and the most changeable of colours, purple, is allowed to show its many contrasting shades.

In this suspended dimension, the translucent beauty of the body quickly moves restlessly through the spaces marked by the triptychs, interweaving and dancing with light shadows, finally stopping for a moment. On the multiplied face like the many personalities living in one, there is a fixed look that can both challenge and reveals its melancholy background. But it's only a moment, soon this figure again walks among the walls of an ancient space, plays hide and seek with the furniture and frescoes, moves very subtly on a floor that looks like a checkerboard and then finally takes a look outside a window as if to be certain that there is still a world out there where the light comes from.
Roberto Mutti