Fabio Sgroi

June 1, 2000 - July 1, 2000

The Easter celebrations of the Sicilian towns also reflect an appreciation of the delicate balance between death and life. In powerfully composed black-and-white images, Fabio Sgroi bears witness to mysterious rituals that have their origins in ancient times. Sicily's Greek, Roman, Arab, and Norman conquerors all influenced the ways many Sicilians still mark the return of Spring that accompanies the return of Christ. Far from being simple documentation of old traditions that are changing or disappearing, Sgroi's images, filled with haunting figures of devils and angels mixing with ordinary people, evoke the festivals' origins while seeming to portend the end of the world.