Mythical Diary: Sculptures from the Farnese Collection

Book Synopsis: Mythical Diary is a visual journey through the classical sculpture of the Archaeological Museum of Naples. It is a physical engagement with the marble bodies of myth. Through his black and white photography, Luigi Spina disassembles the limbs of the sculptures, emphasizing their curves and hidden eroticism, humanizing them to establish a dialogue with the observer. Sculpture is a sign of eternal, unchanging beauty: the only true testimony of many lives that have passed and come to an end, leaving a profound mark in the story of many other existences. For Spina, with his own vision of sculpture, a statue of Aphrodite is not merely a stereotypical portrayal of myth. In it are gathered the anxieties, dreams, hopes and joys of all those who have seen her and dreamed of or studied her. In a way, classical sculpture is profoundly present in our veins, in our very breath.

The project takes the form of an imaginary diary covering fifteen days. But this is only an ephemeral period of time, a convention. The whole work developed over a period of days and months amounting to years, always in contact with the circumscribed space made of myriad lives and stories, which we call a museum.

In Mythical Diary, Spina attempts to make classical sculpture interact with the viewer's desire to be a part of this ancient world which has continually influenced our way of life, our culture and our society, proving itself to be contemporary with any period.