professional category
INDUSTRIAL POP (Series)
DESCRIPTION
This series explores the structural transformation of the former Duisburg foundry, once known as “the Forbidden City.” Industrial spaces that were once places of labor and production are now transformed into scenes of light and color. Through pop-inspired lighting, their austerity is subverted, igniting the architecture with vivid, visionary hues. Cold surfaces become immersive landscapes, where the memory of the past intertwines with new aesthetic and perceptual possibilities.
AUTHOR
Gianluca Santoni (b. 1963) is an Italian fine art photographer based in Tuscany. He began his professional career in 1989, working in editorial and travel photography, with publications including National Geographic Traveller, The New York Times Travel, GEO, and AD.
His artistic research focuses on architecture, industrial landscapes, and the relationship between form, memory, and transformation. Moving beyond documentary representation, he explores the aesthetic and symbolic potential of places, particularly industrial structures that have outlived their original functions.
His ongoing project *The Destinies of Iron* investigates post-industrial landscapes through three interconnected series: *Poetry of Matter*, *Industrial Pop*, and *Industrial Jungle*.
In 2026, Santoni was named **Architecture Photographer of the Year** at the International Photography Awards (IPA) for *Poetry of Matter*. The series also received First Prize in Architecture at Rovinj Photodays and was selected as a finalist for the Hasselblad Masters 2026.
His work received three nominations at the Fine Art Photography Awards 2026, in Architecture, Night Photography, and Nature Photography. *Poetry of Matter* is included in the Permanent Digital Collection of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMSU) in Rijeka, Croatia.
*“I do not photograph to document; I photograph to hope.”*
His artistic research focuses on architecture, industrial landscapes, and the relationship between form, memory, and transformation. Moving beyond documentary representation, he explores the aesthetic and symbolic potential of places, particularly industrial structures that have outlived their original functions.
His ongoing project *The Destinies of Iron* investigates post-industrial landscapes through three interconnected series: *Poetry of Matter*, *Industrial Pop*, and *Industrial Jungle*.
In 2026, Santoni was named **Architecture Photographer of the Year** at the International Photography Awards (IPA) for *Poetry of Matter*. The series also received First Prize in Architecture at Rovinj Photodays and was selected as a finalist for the Hasselblad Masters 2026.
His work received three nominations at the Fine Art Photography Awards 2026, in Architecture, Night Photography, and Nature Photography. *Poetry of Matter* is included in the Permanent Digital Collection of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMSU) in Rijeka, Croatia.
*“I do not photograph to document; I photograph to hope.”*
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