Max Serradifalco: art made with Google Earth
We know, nowadays art can be done with anything. For more than a century now, artists have been pushing art outside its traditional boundaries: with the advent of modernity and the development of new technologies, art has opened up to new interests and artists have gradually begun to experiment with the infinite possibilities offered by various mediums. New paths were blazed, unusual procedures were discovered and invented, materials that had fallen into disuse were rediscovered and new ones were freely experimented with. We have seen art made with everyday objects, with animals, with the body of the artists or the audience, with waste or organic materials of all kinds, art made with computers or artificial intelligence. Personally, however, I had never seen art created with Google Earth.
Max Serradifalco is a Sicilian artist who is revolutionising the concept of landscape photography through the use of Google Earth. In 2011, he started the Web Landscape Photography project, an initiative through which he travels and photographs all over the world, without ever moving from his studio. His innovative idea is based on the use of Google Earth and satellite maps: he takes photographs of the earth's surface directly from the screen, transforming virtual images into works of art with great visual and conceptual impact.
However, his art goes beyond the simple screenshot. Each shot is a tribute to the greatness and fragility of nature, as well as a reflection on the need to preserve our planet. His works are not manipulated, as he himself emphasises, except for a slight adjustment of colour and sharpness. They are then printed in large formats, using high-quality fine art techniques, and produced in limited editions of nine copies. ‘The work of art already exists,’ says Serradifalco, ’it is the Earth! His task is simply to reveal it, letting the natural shapes and colours speak for themselves.
But his art is much more than a technical matter. Web Landscape Photography is an ethical as well as an aesthetic project. His works depict the beauty and vulnerability of our planet, emphasising the urgency of protecting it. Through a series of distinct projects, Serradifalco explores themes such as climate change, pollution, and the relationship between man and the environment.
Among his most significant series are Humanocene, in which he emphasises man's devastating impact on the planet, masking parts of the images to highlight the relationship between nature and human activities. In Ice-Space, the artist contrasts glaciers in Greenland with coastal cities in danger of being submerged by rising sea levels, a clear denunciation of the dangers of global warming.
These works not only show the extraordinary beauty of our planet, but turn it into a powerful message, a reflection on the future that awaits us. Each image invites the viewer to question their responsibility towards the environment: how can we have a lighter impact on the Earth? Are we, as a species, ready to protect it?
His E-ART-H series prompts us further to reflect on our relationship with art and nature. Serradifalco invites us to change perspective: in English, the word Earth already contains within it ART, and is an invitation to consider our planet as a great work of art that we must preserve. This vision merges with his spirituality, deeply rooted in his Christian faith.
What is striking about Serradifalco is his ‘hawk's eye’ view, capable of scanning the world through the web and unearthing details of nature that most would miss. With a unique precision and sensitivity, he manages to spot shapes, colours and geometries hidden in the vastness of the planet, making visible natural wonders that our eyes ignore. Each of his shots, captured from above, reveals a planet full of secrets, inviting us not only to contemplate it, but also to reflect on our relationship with the Earth. ‘The artwork is a gift’, says the artist, “that suddenly manifests itself”.
Cover image: Max Serradifalco, WLP 12 EAU, 2013, satellite photography, edizione di 9 - Max Serradifalco
Alessia Fraioli is a content creator and populariser of contemporary art. Through her social channels she helps artists, exhibitions and events to gain visibility, helping her audience to develop critical thinking. Her communication is extremely engaging and direct, able to interest a wide audience, even those who are generally not interested in art, let alone contemporary art.
