“THE PULSE OF SILENCE”

and Sound Installation

Using desert images from Chile’s Atacama, Egypt’s Sahara, Iceland’s Black, India’s Thar, Peru’s Nazca, Marrueco’s Sahara, Mexico’s Sonora-Arizona and Chihuahuense, Mongolia’s Gobi, Namibia’s Namibia as well as USA’s White Sands, the artist seeks to create an immersive experience by unifying the vastness and silence present across these lands.

Silence feels like a pulse, but it’s a different pulse in each desert. Sometimes it’s a very loud pulse, Alfredo De Stefano explains.

De Stefano is one of Mexico’s most prominent contemporary conceptual photographers. His body of work includes images of desert landscapes that address the natural environment’s elemental significance and our relationship to the land. Often employing ice, fire, and light, De Stefano creates enigmatic installations with both natural and man-made objects in ethereal desert settings.

De Stefano was born in the city of Monclova (Coahuila), located in the desert in Northeastern Mexico. His work has been exhibited internationally, including solo exhibitions at The Recoleta Cultural Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2012; Fourth International Biennial of Photography, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2010; International Biennial of Guangzhou, Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China, 2009 and the Museum of Art Carrillo Gil, Mexico City, Mexico, 2008. De Stefano’s monographs include In This Place, 2008, Brief Chronicles of Light, 2007 and Replenishing Emptiness, 2002. Among the institutions that have collected De Stefano’s work are The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City, Mexico; Museo del Barrio, New York, NY; and the FEMSA Collection, Monterrey, Mexico.

“The Pulse of Silence” | 2023 | 3’30 min

Video produced with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles

ARTIST: PIETRO RUFFO IN COLLABORATION WITH NORUWEI (NORUWEI)