SONIA MELNIKOVA ART PHOTOGRAPHY

The ITALIAN MOTIFS series is a small selection from photographs that I took during a recent trip to Italy. Walking in the streets of Rome, Siena, Venice, Florence or Milan, one is exposed to a stream of powerful visual information from multiple stimuli — a breathtaking cathedral, a sublime piece of sculpture or architectural detail, a tray full of delicious pastries in a bakery window, seductive displays in the windows of elegant boutiques, vivacious crowds, absurdly impossible traffic — all at once. This multilayered experience (and the memory of it) can hardly be translated into a perfect picture of just one of these photogenic objects. The narrow streets lined up with store fronts on both sides, with windows reflecting the cityscape as well as each other, and the ever changing light conditions provided a unique opportunity for me to attempt to capture these enchanting multifaceted impressions.