This series of photographs, presented in the 1999 exhibition L.M.F. at Galleria Carbone in Turin, is part of the artist's early work and shows some of Laura Viale's fundamental features, such as her attention towards nature and light.
The photographs represents a constellation of details of lotus flowers and leaves, enlightened by varied analogic coloured lights and long exposure times.
The final result creates a de-materialisation of the natural elements which are no longer fixed as a presence of nature, but become more of an abstract and minimal artwork:
In fact, each shot catches the viewer's eye more as a composition of lines and vivid colours rather than what they represent. The rest of the plants and landscapes almost disappear to make space for the predominance of colour and shape.
This particular sensitivity towards light and detail in Laura Viale's work conveys a feeling of abstraction, a result that occurs in many works across the artist's oeuvre.
Gianni Romano, Permanent Vacation, in L.M.F., Galleria Carbone, Turin, 1999
