A collective photography project that explore the borders between artistic research and scientific investigation, with special reference to the study of dark matter and dark energy.
What happens when the fundamental substance of our universe remains indifferent to our methods of detection? In a hyper-mediated age defined by a constant flux of images, what does it mean to acknowledge a reality that we cannot visualize?
On the Edge of the Eyelid explores a proximity existing just beyond our perceptual reach. It examines the tension between knowing and seeing through the work of Fabio Barile, Ezio D'Agostino, and Luca Spano, three artists who take contemporary research on dark matter and dark energy as an unstable springboard for their practice. This invisible architecture constitutes approximately 95% of the cosmos, forcing us to confront a state where reality is physically present but optically absent.
Published following the eponymous exhibition at Nivola Museum, Orani, in 2025.
Fabio Barile (born 1980) lives and works in Rome. His photographic research explores natural processes and the forms they produce over time, investigating evolution as a process that builds upon what the past leaves behind. He works primarily with large-format cameras.
A graduate of Fondazione Studio Marangoni, Florence (2007), he has exhibited internationally, including at MAXXI, ICCD, Museo Nazionale Romano, Rencontres d'Arles, Foam Amsterdam and Kunsthalle Darmstadt. His long-term projects investigate geological time, landscape transformation and the relationship between natural and human processes. His work is held in the collections of Fondazione MAST, ICCD, MAXXI and Foam.
Ezio D'Agostino (born 1979 in Vibo Valentia) is an Italian photographer based in Marseille. After graduating in Archaeology and Ancient Art History, he studied at the Scuola Romana di Fotografia in Rome. His work has received international research grants and awards and has been exhibited in institutions, festivals, and galleries across Europe, including at Institut pour la Photographie (France), Centre National de l'Audiovisuel (Luxembourg), Rencontres d'Arles (France), Museo Nivola (Italy), Konschthal (Luxembourg), MACRO (Italy). His works is held in public collections, including Fotomuseum Winterthur (Switzerland), Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain (France), Centre National de l'Audiovisuel (Luxembourg) and Museo Nivola (Italy).
Luca Spano (born 1982) is an Italian artist and professor whose practice investigates how reality is constructed and perceived through visual and representational frameworks. Working across photography, sculpture, installation, and text, he explores the limits of the broader concept of vision and its role in the processes of knowledge construction. His work frequently evolves through collaborations with institutions at the intersection of art and science.
Having completed his studies between Europe and the United States, Spano has exhibited internationally at venues including the MAXXI Museum and MACRO in Rome, Savvy Contemporary in Berlin, Galerie Bigaignon in Paris, and others. Works from these exhibitions are held in notable public and private collections, including the MAXXI Museum, MAN Museum, Nivola Museum, and Cornell University.
