L’Italia baciata dalla luna – photographic exhibition
4 December 2024 – 3 January 2025 at ICI London
The magic of two elements, the Moon and Water, permeates this wonderful new project by Uli Weber, being shown for the first time at the Italian Cultural Institute in London. The photographs pay homage to Italy, both one of Weber’s adopted homes and the third central ‘star’ in this special series. These stunning and immersive portraits of Italy show us some of the country’s most seductive places, captured by Weber at that incredibly special moment when the full moon is reflected in water, creating a magical trail, imbued with beauty and romance.
The title of the series is ‘Yakamoz’, a Turkish word that means ‘the glistening path of the moon’ and that a German cultural magazine has deemed to be the most beautiful word in the world! The idea to use this expression came from a conversation about the mesmerizing effect of the Moon’s reflection on water and gave birth to this ongoing project. Weber still sees each full moon as an opportunity to find a unique expanse of water in which to capture the enchanting reverberations of the moonlight in a single shot.
Opening hours Monday to Friday, 10am – 5pm
Uli Weber, internationally renowned photographer, was born in Germany. After studying photography in Rome, he moved to London and is best known for his work in the field of portraiture and fine art photography. According to Ivan Shaw, international critic and former director of photography for American Vogue, Weber’s mastery and artistic technique can be compared to those of well-known masters such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and August Sander. His photographs are celebrated in the world of Fine Art and have been exhibited in various museums around the world, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the MUST museum and the Castle of Charles V in Lecce, as well as in prestigious spaces in London such as the Saatchi Gallery, Maison Assouline and Christie’s. Weber learned his art in Italy, where he developed his ability to create imagery with a dramatic intensity combining mystery, romance and glamour. His first cover shoot in 1994 was for the iconic style magazine Arena and featured Sting wrapped in a vivid red Katharine Hamnett fake fur coat. Other prestigious commissions followed for magazines such as Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle, and GQ. The faces of well-known celebrities such as Keira Knightley, Kylie Minogue, Hugh Grant, Kate Moss, Lily Cole, Daniel Radcliffe, Jeremy Irons as well as architects such as Achille Castiglioni and Oscar Niemeyer, were immortalized in the beautiful photographic book Portraits published by Skira in 2010 with exhibitions in London, New York, and Milan. In 2014, upon an invitation by the Duke of Richmond, he changed gear, swapping Kate Moss for Sir Stirling Moss and this shift gave rise to Weber’s next book, Goodwood Revival, an award-winning photography project highlighting the most eccentric vintage car race in the world, which is an annual event on the Goodwood estate owned by the Duke of Richmond, in West Sussex (England). With the book Goodwood Revival, published by Skira in 2014, Weber delved head-first into the sophisticated and exclusive elegance of motor racing. The photographic quality of Weber’s work attracted wonderful testimonials from the legendary racing driver, Sir Jackie Stewart (three times world champion) who commented, “Well done on the lovely book. I’m sure it’s going to be much loved by a great many people.” Images from the Goodwood Revival book have been exhibited in London, Milan and Lecce. Weber’s third book, The Allure of Horses, published by Assouline in Autumn of 2018, is the result of a long and meticulous five-year project which leads readers through a unique exploration of the close relationship between man and horse. Highlighting the myriad roles that the horse and people play in our sporting, working, social and cultural lives. Photographs included in the book were exhibited in London, Milan and the Castle of Charles V in Lecce in 2019. In the same year, Weber was commissioned to create a series of artistic portraits of Polo riders for Hackett London which were later exhibited and included in an auction at Christie’s in London. His work has been reviewed by major newspapers such as The Times, Der Spiegel, la Repubblica and Huffington Post. In 2022 he had two solo exhibitions: the first one in Italy, in the splendid rooms of the most important Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Sicily, Palazzo Riso, Palermo, accompanied by the publication of his latest book Seductions, the title of the exhibition. His second exhibition, Moments, hosted in the evocative setting of Ljubljana Castle, Slovenia’s main exhibition space. In 2023, Weber featured in a further two exhibitions: the first being a solo exhibition of Goodwood Revival in the Bocconi Art Gallery by MIA. The second, Uli was successfully selected as a finalist for the Terna Driving Energy Award 2023 where he exhibited his work at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome.
In 2024, Uli Weber was chosen for the realisation of an important project by the Ministry of Culture and Cinecittà Film Studio, which resulted in the exhibition Dive & Madrine and corresponding book published by Electa Photo. The project aims to be a bridge between the protagonists of Italian cinema from past to present, with the photographer reinterpreting historical shots by masters of the past belonging to the Istituto Luce. Exhibited during the 81st Venice International Film Festival in the Hall of the Hotel Excelsior, in the presence of contemporary actresses immortalised in Weber’s shots, Dive & Madrine achieved extraordinary success with both the public and critics, receiving extensive media coverage. In the book’s preface, Undersecretary of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni thanks “Uli Weber, to whom I express my gratitude for having gifted us the fruit of his great talent.” Similarly, the President of Cinecittà Chiara Sbarigia recounts how “assigning a central role to the Istituto Luce means… also putting it in relation with contemporaneity and its talents, as in this case with Uli Weber’s masterful shots of the Godmothers of the Venice Film Festival.”