Images of magnificent landscapes, of titanic effort, of downfall and human struggle – this powerful exhibition confronts the spectator with aspects of the human condition – human nature and fate – facing a sublime and majestic land. The aesthetic and often abstract photographs were taken between 2008 and 2016 by Paolo Pellegrin.

The ground-floor space is mostly dedicated to Pellegrin’s journalistic work. The selection from the series, Guns, Tucson, Arizona (2011), presents impressive black and white classical still lifes of clean, shining objects destined to kill; the unique four meter-long panorama, Guantanamo, 2011, evokes in a multiple-image piece the human tragedy of this crucial place visited by Pellegrin on several occasions over the span of five years; and the black and white five-piece composition, Anti Mubarak Demonstrations, Tahrir Square, Cairo (2011), reveals the insecurity and absurdity of conflict with fragile, elegant images.

On the second-floor of the gallery, a selection from the series, Aerials (2010/11), will be shown for the first time with views of sublime landscapes which can only be revealed to the human eye from far above. A magnificent Glacier (2016) demonstrates the tragical beauty of nature affected by climate change whereas images of Olympic Silhouettes (2008) may symbolize the vain and elusive human ambition for perfection and immortality.