Until the Sun and Moon Go Down: An Analogical Exploration of Alicudi | Angela Ferrotti
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
Whisper of running streams and winter lightning.
T.S. Eliot
“Until the Sun and Moon Go Down” is an analogical tale intertwining reality and fiction, reflecting on the ways we inhabit the modern world, while constantly offering glimpses into the realm of night and dreams.
This body of work explores a richly layered microcosm of Alicudi Island that resists the pace and logic of a fast-moving, hyper-connected world. The remote island sets the stage for a reflection on the relationship between humans and the wild – a journey of dissolution, reassembly, and inner transformation.
Landing on Alicudi feels like pioneering an unknown land, where enchantment instantly seduces or repels. Developed almost exclusively vertically, its silhouette rises majestically like a fortress of times past, evoking at first glance the archetypal island that encapsulates an essential dimension of life.
Living on Alicudi can take on various forms, embodying at once a lost paradise and an eclipse, exile and a return to origins, a hideaway, a blank slate, a kaleidoscope, or an abyss in which one can either lose or find oneself.
Beyond its status as a remote outpost, in the manifest and latent darkness, another layer of the island emerges, revealing a strongly dreamlike realm. A reality charged with suggestion comes to life, reflected in the deep connection with natural elements, the dense silences, and the proximity to the magical world and mythology of the Aeolian archipelago.
In silence, there’s truth and lies.
In melancholy, seabeds of horror,
later turned into hunting strategy.
Do not question invisible paths,
sunken ridges, or the wind from the north.
What we are on solid ground
remains
an unfathomable abyss,
if the earth beneath us
gives way
only by asking.
Alicudi only received electricity in the 1990s and continues to resist modernisation, partly due to its unique location and layout. Developed almost exclusively vertically, its silhouette rises majestically like a fortress of times past, evoking at first glance the archetypal island that encapsulates an essential dimension of life. Living on Alicudi can take on various forms, embodying at once a lost paradise and an eclipse, exile and a return to origins, a hideaway, a blank slate, a kaleidoscope, or an abyss in which one can either lose or find oneself.
Here, nature expresses its full power and freedom, a primordial living entity whose breath sets the rhythm of life and the flow of events.
The close interconnection between humans, nature, and the animal kingdom, along with the delicate balance characterising it, forms a central theme of this work, examined through the lens of symbiosis. As boundaries between different forms of matter begin to dissolve, mutual absorption culminates in metamorphosis – an allegory for the inner changes that often occur through closer contact with the natural world.
A dimension shaped by opposing forces and hidden symmetries, whose nature cannot be measured or planned, but must be felt, listened to, and understood through symbols. The island, with its rugged nature only partially tamed by humans and its direct relationship with everything, invites one to play with perception and rediscover the hidden depths of the mind.
A touch in the dark. An icy hand.
Then nothing.
Oblivion as an essential weapon
in a world where breathing
is a glittering prize
reserved for the triumphant.
Where you can drift, or even play.
But crows – it is well known – forget nothing.
Words and Photography by Angela Ferrotti
Angela Ferrotti (b. 1990) is a photographer and visual artist based in Palermo. After earning a degree in Photographic Arts from the University of Westminster in 2013, she spent several years in London gaining experience in photography and film. Upon returning to Italy, she continued to develop her practice through cultural, editorial, and communication projects. Since 2020, her work has focused on long-term visual research through photography and collage, investigating the relationship between humans and nature at the intersection of the physical and symbolic realms.
