ENZO RAGAZZINI

The Tropics Before the Engine: India - Cochin, Sulfur I, 1980

Archival Giclée Pigment Print on Archival Paper
Limited Edition of 5
42 x 42 in
107 x 107 cm

US $ 3,800

This photograph from I Tropici Prima del Motore [The Tropics Before the Engine] project depicts workers at Cochin Harbour, India, laboring to load sulfur onto boats using shovels. The figure in the foreground, leaning into their labor with determination, calls to mind the anonymous peasant figures in Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s paintings, particularly his portrayal of workers engaged in strenuous yet vital tasks. Similar to Bruegel, Ragazzini imbues his subject with dignity and purpose, elevating everyday toil into a universal narrative of human perseverance. This comparison underscores how Ragazzini blends the immediacy of documentary photography with the timelessness of fine art, creating images that resonate across cultural and historical boundaries.  ...more



  

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