The photographers Giuliana Di Giulio and Simone Giuntoli are the winners of the 1st edition of the “Portfolio reading dedicated to Adriano Perini of Photo Imago”.
Their project “MetaReality” was personally chosen by the famous curator and photography critic Denis Curti (artistic director of Le Stanze della Fotografia in Venice and founder of the Still photography gallery in Milan). “MetaReality” will be exhibited in an exclusive exhibition during the Trieste Photo Days 2025. With “MetaReality” Giuliana and Simone explore “…a future, now present, in which it is with the Avatar that it is possible to live and interact in the Metaverse, in this indefinite space, parallel to the physical one, where the virtual merges with the real, where the boundaries become thinner, sometimes to the point of disappearing, where the Digital Humans, more sophisticated avatars, move in the name and on behalf of the user depicted, of whom they constitute a dual identity.”
Here are the words with which Denis Curti motivated the final choice:
“…For having conducted research on the theories, potential and contradictions of contemporary photographic language, highlighting a design ability with a strong aesthetic impact, without giving up the content level.”
Giuliana and Simone receive the following awards:
- Solo exhibition and talk with the public at Trieste Photo Days 2025
- Stele created by the artist Giorgio Celiberti
The project
Each frame is made up of three parts.
The image section that seems to have been created in the Metaverse comes from the real world: it is in fact the superposition of two frames, taken in physical and traceable places, or of concrete and tangible objects.
On the contrary, the third portion of the image, relating to the portrait of a “real” woman, is completely generated by AI, through a targeted and detailed prompt, i.e. through a text in natural language, with which the generative AI is asked
Authors’ biography
Giuliana Di Giulio and Simone Giuntoli developed their interest in art and photography about fifteen years ago, seeing these disciplines as a tool for analyzing their own time. Since then, they have continued to interpret contemporaneity through images.
Their activity focuses mainly on the truthfulness and ambiguity of images and their use as a communication tool, preferring the attitude of photography in interpreting the present. In recent years, the advent of new technologies has offered them the opportunity to experiment and create new projects in line with their philosophy.
Instagram: @giulianaesimone
Honorable Mention
Roberto Pastrovicchio, personally chosen by the famous photographer Massimo Siragusa, wins the Honorable Mention with the project “The Wood Speech”.
The jury’s motivation was: “For having created a project of great poetic depth; his images of nature convey atmospheres and harmonies capable of describing man’s relationship with the environment in an introspective key with a strong aesthetic impact.”
Roberto Pastrovicchio wins the seal created by the artist Giorgio Celiberti.
The project
The Wood Speech – Diary of the woods
by Roberto Pastrovicchio
“I have been in the woods, I have been in the landscape
an ephemeral moment.
I experience a pause in existence where there is none
fear, there is no noise but familiar words.
The discourse of an illusory simplicity in which the
my breathing is calm, the door of surprise is
always open.”
Instagram: @rob_strovich
Heartfelt thanks go to the portfolio readers Claudia Colecchia, Federica Luser, Lorella Klun and Walter Criscuoli for their attentive and professional contribution in reviewing the many participating projects. A special thanks to the judges Denis Curti and Massimo Siragusa, whose critical eye further enriched the project. We also wish to express our great gratitude for the precious collaboration with Fabio Rinaldi, and we are pleased to have collaborated with Photo Imago, a fundamental partner for the success of this work.
