Hylonicum

Light and residues, by Nicola Polloni

Messina Reiterations

Iteration 1

The first iteration proceeds through fragments that resist being immediately organised into a unified representation of the city. The sea, structures, bodies, objects, and infrastructures appear as different instantiations of the same inhabited space. Their proximity within the sequence establishes no hierarchy: the monumental follows the ordinary, human presence dissolves into the landscape, and structure tends to reduce itself to simple geometry. This first return to Messina produces a necessarily unstable form. The city emerges through the accumulation of its differences, without any single image yet being able to claim to represent it.

A person with bags stands beside a roadside barrier overlooking the Strait of Messina and the mountains beyond.
Elevated view across central Messina toward the harbour, the Strait and the mountains of Calabria.
Frontal view of an ornate residential façade with shuttered windows, a central balcony and a dark entrance door.
A man appears reflected in a glass surface beneath a street sign, with parked cars and trees visible behind him.
A quiet beach curves along the Strait, with rocks emerging from softly blurred water and houses in the distance.
Large dark rocks rise from blurred seawater beside a pebbled shore, with mountains visible across the Strait.
Rocks extend through smooth, blurred water along a pebbled shoreline, with settlements and mountains across the Strait.
A weathered statue of a standing man is photographed from below against dense tree branches and leaves.
Stacked deck chairs, beach furniture and an umbrella stand on sand, with the Strait and mountains behind.
A bicycle stands alone on a broad sandy area, with low vegetation and a concrete structure in the background.
A lifeguard sits sideways on a small rescue boat pulled onto a pebbled beach, with two oars extending outward.
An ornate stone fountain stands in a small urban square surrounded by apartment buildings with balconies.
Upward view into the dense steel latticework of a large transmission tower against a clear sky.
A floating feluca, with the Strait and mountains under a cloudy sky.
An old wooden boat rests on sand, seen from above, with ropes and chains hanging from its bow.
A large curved metal-clad building descends above a narrow street, with Messina and the Strait visible beyond.
A man leans against a waterfront railing while a cat walks beside him, with the sea and harbour behind.
Elevated view of a densely built coastline curving around the sea, with apartment blocks, beach areas and hills.

Places and dates
Messina, 2024-2026.