Emilio Cresciani works as a freelance photographer and a photographic artist, based in Sydney.
Since graduating from Sydney College of Arts in 2012, Emilio has built a solid reputation amongst his peers, with the number of awards and exhibitions.
Most recently, Emilio was a finalist in the prestigious Monash Gallery of Art (MGA) 2019 Bowness Photography Prize.
Other achievements include;
- 2018 Winner, ‘Dis-Moi Dix Mots Competition’ Alliance Française, Sydney
- 2018 Finalist, ‘Mandorla Art Prize’ Perth.
- 2017 Finalist, Monash Gallery of Art (MGA) ‘Bowness Photography Prize’
- 2015 Finalist, ‘Chippendale New World Art Prize’ Sydney
- 2015 Finalist, ‘Agendo Art Prize’ Melbourne.
- 2010 Finalist, National Youth Self Portrait Prize, Canberra.
- 2010 Work featured in the ‘People Gallery’ National Geographic Magazine Photo Contest.
His artwork explores the intersection between our modern consumer lifestyle and redundancy, waste and urban change. His interest is in objects, structures and the urban landscape, and in particular the increasing number of ‘non-places’ that fill our environment. Waste centres, derelict service stations, road works, car parks and abandoned factories. Beauty is found in these places of repulsion, neglect or obsolescence.
His recent series include: Through a Glass, Darkly – cracked safety glass patterns from smashed cars resemble google view, recalling road expansions bringing people and products together. The cracked car windows and another series documenting night road works are a metaphor for the central place roads play in capitalism. Italo Calvino suggests that we are all defined by what we throw away and in FACE2FACE 2016 friends’ weekly waste was superimposed onto their portraits. In Remains of the Day 2012 close-ups of rubbish in waste centres and landfills was the focus, the remains of our consumer culture. The inverted images of rubbish emphasise the negative side of consumerism, like an x-ray points out disease.
Current works in progress look at the effects of our wasteful society – deforestation, contamination of rivers, oil slicks and ice sheets.
Cresciani exhibits regularly in solo and group shows including at Monash Art Gallery, gaffa, Photoaccess, Interlude and The Photography Room.
Michael Fitzgerald, editor, Art Monthly Australia: “Cresciani is staking a claim for his own sharply emerging photographic identity.. a keen photographic excavator of site, sifting through its layers and sediments.
