©Valentina Murabito, Faun_58 x 38 x 9 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on concrete,

Recent European photography has undergone a sophisticated shift toward cinematic portraiture, moving away from the clinically perfect digital aesthetic of previous years infavor of a more deliberate, filmic narrative. This trend treats the single frame not as a standalone portrait, but as a still from a larger, unseen movie. By utilizing anamorphic-style wide crops, dramatic rim lighting, and a palette of “true-to-life; yet moody color grading— photographers are building suspense and emotional tension. This narrative imagery often prioritizes intentional imperfection; hard surfaces, grain, and unposed expressions are used as storytelling devices to evoke a sense of history and human touch; that feels increasingly vital in an era of AI-generated perfection. The visual focus has moved from capturing how a subject looks to establishing a visual voice that suggests a story happened just before the shutter clicked and will continue long after. Today, we feature the work of Valentina Murabito.

Valentina Murabito is an Italian fine art photographer and visual artist based in Berlin. She studied graphic arts at the Academy of Fine Arts of Catania, Italy and continued her photographic training with scholarships at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest, where she began developing her experimental approach to analogue photography.

Murabito hand-develops images on unconventional supports — from watercolor and baryta paper to concrete, steel, glass — creating hybrid, three-dimensional photographic objects that blur the boundaries between photography, painting, and sculpture. In her current work, the human figure emerges within a wild, enigmatic nature. This nature appears sacred and distant, inspiring profound respect. It is a space that awakens longing, wonder, and a sense of belonging beyond the ordinary: a poetic “realm of desire” where the familiar and the mysterious converge. Her work explores materiality, corporeality, and identity, giving rise to “in between creatures” that resist fixed categories of form, species, and gender. Exhibited widely across Europe, her practice draws on mythical, natural, and philosophical references, from metamorphosis and the human body to archetypes. Her photographs are held in notable collections, including the SpallArt Collection in Salzburg.

Instagram: @valentinamurabito.artist

An interview with Valentina Murabito follows.

©Valentina Murabito, Faun_Detail_Side view_58 x 38 x 9 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand prin

LA DONNA DEL MARE

One of many things that drew my attention to the interesting work of Valentina Murabito was her ability to combine ancient themes and myths in contemporary interpretations utilizing a wide variety of unusual media to illustrate her points. Her project, “La Donna del Mare”, takes its inspiration from a play by Henrik Ibsen but transforms the plays’ themes into a mythic paen to nature, instinct and the sea. There is a rough undercurrent that pervades the work and keeps sentimentality and the viewer at a distance. For Murabito wraps her themes of hope and longing in concrete, lava, brass bronze, resin and silk surfaces that promote an intentional mixed message.  She plays a liminal tune between the mythic and the modern.

According to Murabito,” ‘La donna del mare’ is a poetic exploration of freedom, desire, and the human relationship with nature. Inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea, it reimagines Ellida’s tension between duty and the elemental call of the sea as a meditation on identity, longing, and self-determination. A woman stands on a rock by the sea with her arms outstretched, as if she could take flight with the large wings made of Strelitzia petals, her figure merging with a wild and enigmatic nature.

©Valentina Murabito, Hunting scene_120 x 90 x 5 cm, analog b:w photograph on watercolor paper, fluorescent pigment, unique print, 2025

La donna del mare invites viewers into a space where analogue photography becomes a site of transformation and reflection. The works draw the spectator into dialogue with myth, instinct, and the enduring pull of the natural world. Mythic allusions – from fauns to fragments of Greek narratives – combined with the use of modern materials create a visual language that is archaic and contemporary at the same time.

My artistic practice is deeply rooted in experimental analogue photography, where the photographic image is made physical through a complex, handcrafted process that transcends traditional photographic prints. In this exhibition, the materials themselves become part of the narrative: photographs are hand printed on surfaces such as concrete and lava stones or developed on fabrics like silk. Some pieces are made on metals such as brass and bronze, while others are coated in resin, which enhances depth and creates a luminous surface. These diverse substrates – from rough architectural materials to delicate textiles – are not merely supports but active elements in the works, shaping how light, texture, and shadow interact with the photographic image. La donna del mare invites reflection on how ancient stories continue to resonate in our contemporary understanding of freedom, identity, and the human condition. “

©Valentina Murabito, Hunting scene_View in the dark_120 x 90 x 5 cm, analog b:w photograph on watercolor paper, fluorescent pigment, unique print, 2025

MSH: Your portraits often feel like fragments of the Ibsen drama, The Lady from the Sea. How did you come to choose this particular play as a theme for your project?  How does your visual interpretation of the play reflect the feminist themes of Ibsen?

In my project The Lady from the Sea, which I exhibited last year at Galerie Kornfeld, I made an explicit reference to Henrik Ibsen’s play of the same name. What initially drew me to the work was the figure of the protagonist, Ellida. When I first read the play, I was struck by her deeply instinctive and almost visceral connection to nature, particularly to the sea. Ellida feels mysteriously drawn to a sailor simply because he carries the scent of the sea with him.

While the play contains clear feminist undertones, in my project I was primarily interested in exploring the relationship between human beings and nature today, and how that relationship has evolved over time. In the main work of the exhibition, for example, a woman stands on dark volcanic rocks by the sea with her arms open, holding large leaves of the Bird of Paradise plant (Strelitzia). She almost merges with them, as if the leaves could become wings, allowing her to move, or even fly, through this natural element.

Through these works, I wanted to evoke the possibility of feeling united with nature, while also reflecting on how this bond may have changed. Today, nature often appears to us as something more distant and enigmatic, something we long for but no longer fully inhabit.

©Valentina Murabito, Medusa_Detail_140 x 100 x 3 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed

©Valentina Murabito, Medusa_Diptych_140 x 100 x 3 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed

What does printing on atypical materials allow you to express that traditional paper cannot?

My choice of materials is closely connected to the motifs and often adds an additional layer of meaning. In many pieces, image and material are inseparable. For example, in La Donna del Mare, the surface treated with gold pigment becomes a radiant, shimmering sea. In my work, there is a play of contrasts between very contemporary materials, such as plexiglass or concrete, and archaic motifs and atmospheres.

Some scenes from Henrik Ibsen’s drama were also decisive in my choice of materials. In the exhibition, for instance, I presented works printed on brass and then covered with thick layers of epoxy resin. This material evokes a sense of moisture and visually recalls the shifting shimmer of sea waves. When poured in dense layers, the resin can also suggest the presence of a figure, or even a wreck, slowly resting, almost forgotten, on the seabed.

I have also frequently worked with materials from the construction industry – such as concrete, bitumen, and steel – because I am deeply concerned with the loss of biodiversity and the ongoing extinction of species. I come from Giarre in Sicily, often referred to as the “capital of the unfinished.” There, more than anywhere else in Italy, enormous amounts of concrete were poured to build structures that were never completed and now stand abandoned. Beneath them, both literally and symbolically, the earth is suffocated, habitats for animals and plants disappear, and with them, ultimately, our own.

The tactile qualities of these materials allow me to evoke sensations – such as weight, immersion, erosion, or humidity – that would be difficult to convey through traditional photographic paper alone.

©Valentina Murabito, Monsters_each 30 x 15 x 12 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on wall bricks, unique prints, 2022

©Valentina Murabito, 15 x 12 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on wall bricks, unique prints, 2022

MSH: Are you challenging traditional representations of women in portraiture, or reimagining them?

In much of my work, the gender of the subject is not always immediately clear. Early on, I enjoyed exploring fluid identities and questioning the boundaries of gender itself. In my current work, many figures are distinctly female, yet they resist traditional portrayals. They are mysterious, powerful, and enigmatic – echoing mythic beings like the sirens, inhabiting a space between desire and danger.

My visual language is inspired by late 19th-century Romanticism, with its archetypal and timeless imagery. Through these figures, I aim to evoke a sense of myth, imagination, and otherworldliness. They are women who are at once familiar and utterly elusive, challenging conventional portraiture while inviting the viewer into a dreamlike, liminal space.

©Valentina Murabito, Moonless night n.2_38 x 28 x 6 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on white concrete, resin, unique print, 2023

MSH: Mythological references appear subtly in your work. Are there particular myths or archetypes you return to often? What role does symbolism play in constructing your visual worlds?

Yes, my figures and settings often inhabit imaginary, mythic spaces that are untethered to a specific time or place. This evokes a sense of transcendence, mystery, and the sublime, a quality central to Symbolism, which has deeply influenced me. I am drawn to its timeless atmospheres, archetypal figures, and mythic imagery, from the dreamlike visions of Gustave Moreau to medieval-inspired beings such as sirens, fairies, nymphs, and visionary saints. Certain myths and archetypes recur in my work. For example, the faun fascinates me: a hybrid being, half human and half goat, intimately connected to nature as the Roman deity of forests, fields, and flocks. This idea of liminality – of being “in between” – resonates in many of my figures.

In my upcoming exhibition for the opening of Berlin Art Week in September 2026 at Kornfeld Gallery, the sailor and the siren appear as central mythic figures. In this exhibition, I wonder if we might be living through a second “Romanticism.” Much like the late 19th century, when industrialization promised progress while stirring uncertainty, today artificial intelligence is reshaping our world – altering the rhythms of society, the economy, and our inner lives. These transformations, both exhilarating and disorienting, evoke the same awe, longing, and sense of the unknown that once defined the Romantic imagination. The sailor embodies the Romantic human at the threshold of modernity: a figure seeking orientation, turning toward nature as a space of longing and mystery. The siren confronts him as an ambivalent counterpart, embodying both seduction and danger, as well as the power of nature. The sea, as a space of the sublime, remains a place of transformation, journeys, and encounters with forces greater than ourselves.

©Valentina Murabito, Narcissus reflects_Side view_32 x 17 x 8 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on moldable concrete, resin, unique print, 2023_Private collection, Berlin, Germany

MSH: Do the physical materials change how audiences engage with your images? What kind of emotional response do you hope your work evokes?

Yes, the physical qualities of the materials shape the way my images are experienced. In my work, motif and material exist in constant dialogue, often inseparable, so that form and content share equal weight in how the work is perceived. This dynamic changes the way audiences engage with each piece. For example, when I use phosphorescent pigment, which absorbs light and glows in the dark, the work transforms. It is as if the viewer encounters it by night, or glimpses it through a dreamlike screen, immersed in a perception that feels both altered and magical.

My intention is to evoke sensations rather than give information. These are experiences that reach the body first, resonating in the stomach before the mind. I would like viewers to feel the work in a physical, almost instinctive way, as if it pulses beneath the skin, rather than being merely seen or analyzed.

©Valentina Murabito, Nausicaa. Study n.2_54 x 34 x 6 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on watercolor paper, resin, unique print, 2022

©Valentina Murabito, Nausicaa. Study n.2_Detail_54 x 34 x 6 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on watercolor paper, resin, unique print, 2022

MSH: How has your relationship to portraiture evolved over time? Was there a turning point when you began experimenting with alternative materials?

My relationship with portraiture has evolved significantly over the past twenty years, especially from an aesthetic and stylistic point of view, while maintaining a consistent underlying intention: to move beyond individual identity and reveal something universal. In my earlier works, the figures were often deliberately unrecognizable. I used extreme blur, movement, and experimental darkroom techniques, such as pseudo-solarization, to dissolve the subject’s identity. From the beginning, I was not interested in a documentary portrait, but rather in extracting from each individual a more universal human presence. Over time, these figures have become increasingly archetypal and mythic, embodying an enigmatic, almost eternal human presence. I am especially drawn to figures like Medea, who express a powerful and ambivalent femininity, poised between the human and the divine. In my more recent works, it feels as though I am searching for a divine dimension within the human form. The figures possess something sacred that creates a certain distance yet evokes a profound respect.

A key turning point came around 2015, when I shifted my process and returned, in a way, to the origins of photography by working with photographic emulsion itself, the substance that captures and holds light. This allowed me to move beyond traditional baryta paper and begin printing on materials such as concrete or wood. These materials enter into a symbiosis with the image, and their contemporary nature creates a tension, almost a counterpoint, with the archaic aesthetic of the figures.

©Valentina Murabito, Primal scream_31 x 22 x 16 cm, analog b:w photograph on concrete fluorescent pigment, unique piece, 2025

©Valentina Murabito, Primal scream_View in the dark_31 x 22 x 16 cm, analog b:w photograph on concrete, fluorescent pigment, unique piece, 2025

MSH: If your work were a myth, what would its moral be?

Since my childhood, I have been deeply captivated by a particular myth: the return of Odysseus to Ithaca, his homeland, as told by Homer in the Odyssey. To me, this journey is more than a story, it is a symbol of returning to our origins, to the very essence of what it means to be human, to who we were before any cultural constructs shaped us. Metaphorically, I see in this myth a return to nature, not as distant spectators, but as beings fully immersed in it, inseparable from its rhythms and its life. There is a profound intimacy here, a reminder that we are part of something greater, a sacred connection that predates history itself.

Through my work, I seek to inhabit this space, to evoke this primordial harmony, where humans and nature coexist in a quiet, ancestral resonance. My figures, my images, strive to capture that fleeting sense of belonging, of being at once mortal and timeless, rooted yet in dialogue with the eternal.

©Valentina Murabito, Self portrait. Empedocles on Etna II_72 x 53 x 3 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on silk, wood, unique print, 2024_Private collection, Munich, Germany

©Valentina Murabito, The lady from the sea_120 x 100 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on watercolor paper and gold pigment, unique print, 2023_Private collection, Spain

©Valentina Murabito, The Lady from the Sea. Study_39 x 21 cm, analog colour photograph on fluorescent plexiglass, unique print, 2025

©Valentina Murabito, The wanderer_40 x 20 cm, analog b:w photograph on watercolor paper and gold pigment, unique print, 2025

©Valentina Murabito, When reason sleeps II_40 x 30 x 3 cm, analog b:w photograph, hand printed on concrete, resin, unique print, 2024_Private collection, Berlin, Germany

©Valentina Murabito, Exhibition view n2_Valentina Murabito_La Donna del Mare, 68projects by Kornfeld Gallery Berlin, 2024:25

©Valentina Murabito, andrea katheder, for Galerie Kornfeld Berlin 2024