Sergio Zavattieri
Extract from the catalogue of the exhibitions Fuorigioco by Stefano Elena, Rome, 2006
Zavattieri’s manufactured and meticulous perfectionism makes you believe that nature is more authentic when it is artificial.
His portfolio of plant anatomy is the fruit of candid head-on shots of the producers of atmospheric oxygen. From time immemorial and for time immaterial these multicellular organisms have been transforming solar energy into enough chemical energy to sustain themselves; they certainly began long before man decided to wake up to the enlightening power of Brother Sun.
For this reason, these budding organisms that do not speak yet seem to want to be spoken to, represent a silent evolutionary force; held deep inside themselves, this
Zavattieri seems to want to restore them to this pedestal, not for his self-identification but for their self-glorification. He restores the independent superiority of the plant fibres, presenting microscopic features in macro, magnifiying laminae, blades, leafstalks and stems to the point of defining their epidermis, intercellular spaces and vascular bundle.
Truely devoted to technical enhancements and making the most of the readily available software, Zavattieri uses a technique which contrasts with the sculpted reality of the plant kingdom. Without human imprint and subtly reproduced with a diligent touch that is both concentrated and painstaking, the lucid images show us the details and finer points of an impassive self-controlled cosmos that never needs to ask for our help.