Visiting a former petrochemical complex, 2010. Photo by Luca Carenzo.

who and why

Blurry snapshots in my mind confirm the fascination I've always had for industrial ruins, being born in the 80s in a post-industrial city as Milan. My first steps into an abandoned factory did not happen by chance: after a childhood spent daydreaming about a giant, mysterious industrial complex visible from my window, at the age of 15 I decided it was time to try to get inside, and I succeeded. On that special day I had the feeling that the factory was waiting for my visit since a long time. I returned there during the following days, months and years, at first without any equipment, but soon I felt necessary to document this "invisible" world: a photo camera became my trustworthy companion then. Self-taught and web-supported, I extended my researches from the neighborhoods to the whole Italy and then Europe. Soon I get in touch with the world of industry culture and photography, finding answers to my questions and, most important, the reason able to explain what I was doing and why.

The ruins of the industrial age are an essential part of our history even if they are often discharged and far from being considered as heritage: by means of photography I intend, at least, to preserve the visual memory of them.

Tele shooting over Porto Marghera (Venice industrial harbor), 2007. Photo by Kerstin Schorer.

Still Alive, a growing project

Still Alive was born in 2005 as a rough handmade website aiming to freely share my documentation activity in abandoned factories. Beyond any expectation, the website was well received by the internet industrial culture and photography community. My increasing knowledge in web-design drove me to improve both appearance and contents. In particular, what has been increased in my activity is the so-called "additional documentation": photography, aiming to show the actual state of visited sites, shifted from the initial 100% of the entire work to the actual 50%, as I feel absolutely necessary to find a completion through a deep "back in time" research (which takes much more time than photography itself). Therefore, Still Alive is a timeless archive of places, each one described from a multilayered point of view: photographies, historical informations, old pictures, related documents and everything that can help to give back the most complete framework. When possible, many aspects of the factory are discussed: company and business evolution, manufacturing processes and technological issues, marketing and communication, architectural themes and social aspects. An essential bibliography is also attached, if available.

Finally, two words about the name. Still Alive was firstly conceived as explanation of what abandoned factories make me feel when being inside: not dead places as the common sense wants to suggest, but silent witnesses just asking to be listened. In addition, Still Alive wants to enhance the sense of my acting, i.e. the fact that these old factories can survive at least here, in this website and in my pictures, if history won't allow them to do in reality.

Speech during "The common ground of industrial archaeology" conference, Venice 13th Architecture Biennale, 2012. Photo by Jacopo Ibello.

works

EXHIBITIONS

I paesaggi dell'industria, group photographic exhibition, Milan, Italy, May 2012 - Busto Arsizio, Italy, October/November 2012 - Terni, Italy, February/March 2013 - Naples, Italy, April 2013. [catalogue] [Milan vernissage]

SNIA Viscosa: immagini di ieri e di oggi, permanent photographic exhibition, Varedo town hall, Italy, 2011 onwards. [pdf]

Il tempo scorre nella fabbrica ritrovata, group photographic exhibition, Solbiate Olona, Italy, October 2009.

Le città invisibili, group photographic exhibition, Florence, Italy, May 2007.

Still Alive, personal photographic exhibition, Nice, France, December 2006.

PRESS

Galería : Marcello Modica, portfolio, Revista Llámpara n.5, front cover + pp. 123-128, December 2012. [e-magazine]

Industriekultur - Länderschwerpunkt Italien, photo credits, Industriekultur 2.12, front cover + pp. 2-4, June 2012. [pdf]

IKF 2011, yearbook of www.industriekultur-fotografie.de, November 2011. [BLURB]

Itinerario fotografico : la SNIA Viscosa di Varedo, portfolio + article, Patrimonio Industriale n.7, pp. 3, 139-144, April 2011. [pdf]

La fotografia di archeologia industriale in internet, interview by Angelo Desole, Patrimonio Industriale n.6, pp. 132-135, October 2010.

CONFERENCES

The "common ground" of industrial archaeology, invited speaker at a conference within the Venice 13th Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy, September 22, 2012. [programme] [review]

Archeologia industriale: l’esperienza diretta attraverso la fotografia di Marcello Modica, academic lecture, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Storico Artistici, Milan, Italy, December 17, 2008. [pdf]

Archeologia industriale, academic lecture, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, March 13, 2008.

MASTER'S DEGREE FINAL DISSERTATION (December 12, 2012)

At Forges de Clabecq (Belgium), 2009. Photo by Lidia Giusto.

quotes

"When browsing the net I came across a website of industrial landscapes by Marcello Modica. Marcello is an urban planner and photographer from Milan who has over the years built an impressive site at: www.st-al.com. Take a look and see what you think."
Daniel Hayton (Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society)

"Una página web muy trabajada desde el punto de vista fotográfico, histórico, de dibujos y material recogido en las propias fábricas. Está muy organizada e incluye no sólo las industrias sino el paisaje industrial.
Enhorabuena Marcello!"
Gracia López (blogger)

"Outre les photos, vous pouvez, en explorant les liens, déboucher sur une impressionnante collections de sites de photographies de patrimoine industriel dans le monde... De multiples liens institutionnels ou personnels qui ouvrent des horizons."
Dominique Perchet (CILAC)