Sebastien J. Zanella

On the occasion of his first exhibition, the gallery is pleased to present “The Passenger”, a new photographic series by Sebastien J. Zanella.

Through this new body of work, Sebastien J. Zanella offers a deeply introspective piece, born from a journey that is both inward and geographical. Created over the course of a long voyage stretching from Turkey to the Sahara, via the Hawaiian Islands, then across Latin America before returning to the Canary Islands, where he resides, “The Passenger” unfolds as a sensitive reflection on the way we inhabit the world, perceive it, and connect ourselves to it.

For several years now, the work of Sebastien J. Zanella has explored notions of movement, memory, and presence. With “The Passenger”, his gaze evolves toward a more meditative approach, where the image becomes a space of suspension and inner resonance. This process aligns with a broader lineage of certain artistic gestures of the twentieth century, in which the act of creation becomes above all a physical and mental experience of the world, echoing the research of Jackson Pollock, for whom movement, the body, and gesture already engaged a form of direct translation of interiority.

Far removed from any documentary intention, this new series is built through the abandonment of certainties and categories. Here, the photographer questions the loss of contemporary reference points, while seeking a form of reconnection with living things, nature, and the mystery of simple things. In this perspective, the image no longer seeks to represent, but rather to bring forth a perceptive and instinctive experience.

“The more I lost my illusions, the more I felt I belonged to the living world,” writes the artist in his statement of intent. This sensation runs throughout the entire series: traversed landscapes, fleeting presences, fragments of reality, and shifting lights compose an open narrative in which the experience of looking takes precedence over affirmation.

“The Passenger” thus evokes a form of inner journey, in which the photographer accepts no longer trying to master or define what he sees, but simply to experience it.

“By endlessly walking, looking, and losing myself in landscapes, I stopped thinking about what I was doing, about who I was supposed to be. I simply became a passenger.” concludes the photographer.