Return to Sea and Sardinia 100
A pilgrimage in photographs
23 April - 31 May 2022
In 1921, D.H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda travelled from Sicily to Sardinia. It was a voyage which was to inspire one of the writer’s most significant travel works, Sea and Sardinia. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the book’s publication, the Fondazione Sardegna Film Commission supported Daniele Marzeddu to direct a new film, which retraces D.H. Lawrence’s steps, ‘Return to Sea and Sardinia’.
This photography exhibition shows 100 of the images taken as part of the project. The images capture the historic buildings, the dramatic landscape and the contemporary inhabitants of the two islands: from The Duomo to street food stalls, and from the Ionian Sea to a Palermo storyteller across to the Mediterranean Sea to reach Cagliari and finally on the train into interland Sardinia.
Places and people captured by our camera lenses show us the very essence of both islands and the "return" to a bi-chromatic representation wishes to offer a subtle secular connection in line with the archival footage discovered in the Cineteca archives in Cagliari and reflecting with our photographic research the Lawrentian’s poetic account on ‘the spirit of place’.
The aspiration to offer an additional reportage in photographic format also aligns to Lawrence’s unaccomplished desire of producing a publication accompanied by period images in his first edition of the book in 1921. An achievement that we were able to accomplish, in our own terms, to tell our story one hundred years later.
The faces, gazes and behaviours of the people we captured tells us stories of an intimate daily presence in a world that, albeit in a kind of slow-motion perception, has moved on and wants to be modern and efficient. They have opened up to the traveller who wished to know more about their lifestyle, their work, their past and their present in a straightforward and sincere manner of speaking, which appears to be a strong contrast to Lawrence’s description of the inhabitants of Sardinia.
The striking images of the natural and urban environment document the love that Sardinian and Sicilians have for their own country and the enormous sacrifices they are willing to make to live there, resisting the impulse of migrating to find other opportunities abroad. They are lands of harsh climates where the seasons go by demanding great dedication and endurance and the contrast in living standards observed as we travelled from the city to the mountains and the seaside, was equally impressive and touching.
We wish to express our deepest appreciation to the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum for the wonderful opportunity to exhibit this collection of one hundred images of our journey as a reflection of a continuous pilgrimage that began one hundred years ago.
Physical exhibit: D. H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum, Eastwood, Nottingham
23 April - 31 May 2022
Acknowledgements
Daniele Marzeddu
A photographer whose passion is making films. In 2019 he set up the art collective thevisualguys.com for producing visual art and films. An awarded photographer and filmmaker, he is member of: A-N The Artists Information Company UK; Documentando - Documentary Filmmakers (Italy); CameraPixo Press International; Shutter Hub UK. Since 2005 he has been working with several different companies and institutions across Portugal, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.
D. H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum
The D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum is the childhood home of the author D.H. Lawrence. The Museum is located in the ex-mining town of Eastwood and surrounded by the lovely landscapes that influenced Lawrence’s life and books. An authentically recreated miner’s cottage, birthplace of world renowned Nottinghamshire author. A charming, award-winning museum & gift shop also featuring an exhibition space dedicated to showing how Lawrence lived a life without limits as well as showcasing the work of a new generation of local artists, keeping Lawrence’s legacy alive.
lleisure.co.uk/d-h-lawrence-birthplace-museum/
Island2Island Art
An artistic initiative born with the aim of presenting contemporary works by Sardinian and international artists in conversation. Since the closing of the first event in October 2020, it has grown and developed new collaborations and has extended its action thanks to the connections between cultures, in celebration of each other’s heritage, cultural diversity and human associations.
