Obscurity as descent. An inner journey into unknown territories and mysterious dimensions—a place where darkness prevails.

The photographer Massimiliano Pugliese got lost deliberately in these enigmatic parallel landscapes in order to look for images that registered deeply within his memory and in his Ego.

The characters in these images find themselves totally alone, lost in gloomy atmospheres, almost as if they were looking for some sort of basic protection. Like nocturnal insects, they are attracted to sources of light as if the light could provide a safe shelter from the deep, enveloping, ever-looming black.

Individual experiences of loss, as terrible and shocking they are, always provide an opportunity for some form of illumination. Pugliese doesn’t need to tell a story explicitly: his photographs render images that most of us have already experienced or will face in the future.

Losing yourself to find yourself; finding yourself to know yourself—with absolute sincerity.

—Pandolfi Vanni

Editors’ Note: We discovered this great work when Massimiliano Pugliese submitted some of these photos to the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards. Even though the international jury did not select the submission as an award winner, the editors of LensCulture liked the work so much, that we decided to publish a feature article about it and post it to Facebook, as well. Enjoy!