La domenica prima (The Sunday before) is the last series Giacomelli made. He took the photographs on the 16th January 2000, before being rushed to hospital. His perception of the end is palpable.
La domenica prima was published for the first time in 2011 by 24 Ore Cultura in Mario Giacomelli. Sotto la pelle del reale. The series is bittersweet. The fathomless solitude of the winter beach combines with the infinite immensity of the sea in the background. And yet, this silence feels anything but terrifying; it is instead a mother’s womb ready to envelop Giacomelli in its folds.
Giacomelli’s photographic journey ends where it began: at the beach. The subject of his very first photograph is a sandal strewn ashore by the sea, and here Giacomelli explores how the present becomes past. The palm trees are covered for the arrival of winter; everything is deserted. The only “living” presence in these photographs comes in the form of the fake dog and birds used by Giacomelli in this latter period purely for their symbolic resonance.
Giacomelli may not have known that he would only live until the 25th November 2000, but no doubt he had an inkling. His final series all foreshadow an end of life and art. His final series all foreshadow an end of life and art: 31 Dicembre, Così come la morte (Just like death), Cremonini, Autoritratti (Self-portraits), Bucci, Ricordi di un ragazzo del ‘25 (Memories of a boy from 1925), Questo ricordo lo vorrei raccontare (I’d like to tell you about this memory). In line with his cyclical vision of life, this end is but a metamorphosis towards infinity.
