LAWS OF NATURE

December 7 to January 20, 2024

In the exhibition "Laws of Nature" at Galerie Gomis, five distinctive voices—Bettina Pittaluga, Djeneba Aduayom, Gleeson Paulino, Mar+Vin and David Uzochukwu—engage in a captivating dialogue. Each artist contributes a unique perspective, weaving a tapestry that metaphorically mirrors the beauty and complexity of nature.

Gleeson Paulino's "Batismo" series echoes the profound symbolism of water, serving as a tributary to life and rebirth. Mar+Vin's "Fresh Stems" celebrates the tenacity of life, showcasing the unstoppable force of fresh beginnings and the march of time.

David Uzochukwu's lens captures metamorphosis, unveiling hidden beauty within each frame. Bettina Pittaluga, a visual ecologist, documents the raw authenticity of humanity with unadorned honesty.

Djeneba Aduayom, with her play of light and shadow, reveals the chiaroscuro of the human experience. Together, these artists form a collective ode to the Laws of Nature, inviting the audience to explore interconnected ecosystems of creativity.

BETTINA PITTALUGA

Bettina Pittaluga, Franco-Uruguayan photographer, captures intimate and sensitive moments of life through her lens.

After her training as a photo reporter, she obtained her master's degree in sociology at the Sorbonne and a master's degree at the Center for Applied Literary and Scientific Studies (CELSA). Sociology stood out to her as a revelation, “I was faced with a science which tried to answer the questions I was asking myself. It was extraordinary, still today it's really my way of delving deeper into subjects, of developing and contextualizing them."

Bettina only works on film, in medium format, and prints her photos herself when she can. The rest of the time she collaborates with Diamantino Quintas in Paris.

Her approach to photography, very “physical” and instinctive, is linked to the senses, and is intended to be as close as possible to reality. "The center of my work is people, I highlight people who have things to tell and who are linked to my convictions, whatever they may be. I am very attracted by love, tenderness, kindness. And all this goes hand in hand with the fact that I fight every day against injustice, violence, hatred.

Selected group shows:

DJENEBA ADUAYOM

After a career as a professional dancer, Djeneba Aduayom progressed into photography and brought her love of movement and emotive performance into her imagery and subsequent directing work.

Drawing inspiration from her multicultural heritage, Aduayom’s concepts and artistic expression are rooted in personal exploration of the inner worlds that reside in her imagination as a direct and instinctual result of her experience of the existing world. In looking within and articulating creative ideas in a visual abstraction that beckons interpretation, she hopes her works allow the outside viewer to travel to a universe of their very own making.

Aduayom is based in Southern California.

Selected group shows & fairs:

GLEESON PAULINO

Gleeson Paulino was born in 1988 in Eldorado city, a sixteen thousand inhabitants in the state of Mato Grosso Do Sul and grew up in Campo Grande.

He left for Vienna at the age of 17 via a music program for young people from his religious community. On this trip, he had the opportunity to go to London where his creativity blossomed through photography. He returned to Brazil few years later to become one of the most prolific emerging visual artist in the country. In 2021, I-D magazine named Gleeson one of the leading Brazilian photographer to follow.

In 2019, Gleeson exhibited for the first time at SP Foto with Lamb London Gallery, followed by a presentation Le Salon Des Beaux Art. In 2022, he held is first solo exhibition in Sao Paulo presenting his latest series Baptismo. The project won awards in Italy (Cortona On The Move), Slovenia (Kranj Photo Festival) and Holland (Lens Culture critics choice prize) as well as two gold medals at Le Salon Des Beaux Art in Paris. The exhibition Baptismo is currently touring Brazilian Embassies around the world and a book was released in March 2023.

DAVID UZOCHUKWU

David Uzochukwu (b. 1998) is an Austrian and Nigerian artist.

Growing up in Luxembourg and Belgium, Uzochukwu delved into self portraiture at age thirteen, and began developing a largely digital practice. It lead to vivid collaborations with artists FKA twigs and Iris van Herpen among others, as well as a commission for the World Wildlife Fund. Their self portrait series A FAMILIAR RUIN was included in group show Dey Your Lane! at Bozar (2016). Further exhibitions include Photo Vogue Festival (2018, 2019), and The New Black Vanguard at Rencontres d’Arles (2021). Uzochukwu was nominated for an ICP Infinity Award in 2019, and named „One to Watch“ by British Journal of Photography the following year. Uzochukwu’s first short film, GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, premiered at Max-Ophüls-Preis in 2021, while their first film installation is in development at CPH:DOX’s lab.

His series IN THE WAKE was shortlisted for 2021 Prix Pictet Fire and his photographs are part of the worldwide touring exhibition, currently on view in New-York at Fotografiska Museum.

Uzochukwu is based in Berlin, pursuing a BA in Philosophy and Cultural Studies.

MAR+VIN

Mar+Vin is duo of fashion photographers formed by Marcos Florentino and Kelvin Yule in 2016. Based in Sao Paulo, the two have gained prominence with a new photographic language exploring roots, blackness and reconstruction of the image of brazilian beauty in the 21st century.

They use beauty as act of resistance to challenge the racism that still plays a major role in every aspect of Brazilian society and against the discrimination of the LGTBQ+ community.

Mar+Vin has been in published in major platform such as Vogue & Elle Brasil, Kinfolk, The Washington Post, Metal Magazine...Their work has been featured in a number of group shows: