• Mattia Panunzio

Stories

The Bajau People

The Bajau people are skilled fishermen and free-divers who can hold their breath and remain underwater for as long as eight minutes. Some children even have their eardrums pierced to prevent them from bursting due to water pressure while diving. With 3,500 residents on just 8.5 hectares (21 acres) of land, Bungin Island also stands out as the most densely populated of Indonesia’s 17,000 islands and one of the most densely populated islands of the world. Sea levels are steadily rising due to the increasing impacts of climate change, posing a growing threat to coastal communities and ecosystems worldwide. The Bajau tribe of Bungin Island could soon be in serious danger.

Coober Pedy

Opal is one of the most valuable gemstones in the world. Its price can reach into the millions, depending on type, color, and weight. Black opal is the most prized opal, it can reach over AUD $15,000 a carat. The gemstone was first found in Coober Pedy in 1915, leading to a mining boom as people came in search of their fortune. The most expensive recorded Australian Opal is the “Olympic Australis,” weighing an astonishing 17,250 carats. This massive opal specimen comes from Coober Pedy and was valued at $1.7 million USD., making it the most expensive opal in Australian history. It’s estimated that 95% of the world’s Opal comes from Australia and in particular 70% from Coober Pedy. Each piece of Opal is “One Of A Kind” and can never be replicated or reproduced. The truly phenomenal thing about Opal is that it can display all of the colours of the spectrum. The “play of colour” found in Opal is the result of interference and diffraction of light passing through tiny silica spheres in the microstructure of Opal. This means the bright rainbow colours of Opal, as they appear to the human eye, will move and change dramatically depending on the angle at which the stone is viewed as light refracts the silica spheres.

Zorro

The Italian Roma community is one of the largest ethnic minorities in Italy. The exact size of the community is uncertain but it is estimated that there are between 120,000 and 180,000 Roma in the country. Many of them live in settlements usually set in the outskirt of big cities. From more than 30 years Zorro, his family and relatives, live in a space entrusted by the municipality on the southern side of Rome. Many of them were born there and are Italian citizens.

Portfolio

panunzio_portfoliodef_001 Australian bushfires. In summer 2019-20 Australia was hard hit by bushfires. Up to 19 million hectares were burnt, around 2,700 homes destroyed and 1.25 billion animals killed. The land pictured is part of the blue mountains in New South Wales and it was luckly untouched by the fires. Blue Mountains, Australia, 2020.
waterfall-in-tahiti-french-polynesia-2023 Waterfall in Tahiti, French polynesia. 2023
storm-hitting-the-mountains-in-teahupoo-french-polynesia-2023 Storm hitting the mountains in Teahupoo, French Polynesia, 2023.
dolomites-italy-2017 Dolomites, Italy, 2017.
teenager-on-a-bench-along-the-sydney-coastal-walk-sydney-australia-2020 Teenager on a bench along the Sydney coastal walk. Sydney, Australia, 2020
panunzio_portfoliodef_006 Old gas station. After hundreds of years of failure, the swampland of the Agro Pontino was finally drained under the Fascist Regime. Built as the rationalist masterpiece of Fascist architects, the area nowadays has been literally drowned by residential and industrial buildings. The result is a territory devoid of any urban planning rules. Most of the area’s farmhouses have been modified, abandoned or surrounded. Agro Pontino, Italy, 2015
uluwatu-surf-spot-in-bali-bali-indonesia-2022 Uluwatu surf-spot in Bali. Bali, Indonesia, 2022.
uluwatu-temple-in-bali-bali-indonesia-2022 Uluwatu temple in Bali. Bali, Indonesia, 2022.
abandoned-plane-on-the-east-coast-of-bali-bali-indonesia-2022 Abandoned plane on the east coast of Bali. Bali ,Indonesia, 2022
panunzio_portfoliodef_010 Singleton resident and mine worker. The mining industry in Singleton is one of the largest in New South Wales, with numerous coal mines scattered throughout the area. The town’s coal reserves are estimated to be around 600 million tonnes, making it one of the largest coal reserves in Australia. The coal is extracted from open cut and underground mines, and is used for both domestic and industrial purposes. Hunter Vallery, NSW, Australia, 2019
coronavirus-outbreak-in-sydney Sydney, Australia, March 2020. The ​consequences of coronavirus in Sydney during loc​kdown. Central Business District.
house-internal-in-bellosguardo-bellosguardo-italy-2019 House internal in Bellosguardo. Bellosguardo, Italy, 2019
panunzio_portfoliodef_014 Charlie (b. Basilio) in his house in Sydney, Australia. Charlie was born in Frosinone, Italy in 1924. He was 28 when he spent five weeks on a boat from Naples to Melbourne to arrive in Australia, it was 1952. He never went back to Italy since then. Sydney, Australia, 2020.
panunzio_portfoliodef_012 Singleton resident and mine worker. The mining industry in Singleton is one of the largest in New South Wales, with numerous coal mines scattered throughout the area. The town’s coal reserves are estimated to be around 600 million tonnes, making it one of the largest coal reserves in Australia. The coal is extracted from open cut and underground mines, and is used for both domestic and industrial purposes. Hunter Vallery, NSW, Australia, 2019
coronavirus-outbreak-in-sydney-4 Sydney, Australia, March 2020. The ​consequences of coronavirus in Sydney during loc​kdown. Central Business District.
coronavirus-outbreak-in-sydney-3 Sydney, Australia, March 2020. The ​consequences of coronavirus in Sydney during loc​kdown. Central Business District.
panunzio_portfoliodef_019 The pinnacles. Located inside the Ben Boyd National Park, the Pinnacles are a geologic formation just off the beach. The unusual landform was created millions of years ago partly by running water, eroding sharply into the soil exposing the brightly coloured layering of two different types of sand & sediment .
lovers-enjoying-the-sunrise-crescent-head-australia-2021 Lovers enjoying the sunrise. Crescent Head, Australia, 2021
galleria-nazionale-di-arte-moderna-e-contemporanea-rome-italy-2023 Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. Rome, Italy, 2023.
panunzio_portfoliodef_023 Ceramics lab in Tamarama. Image part of a random people street portaits series in Sydney. Sydney, Australia 2020.
random-people-street-portaits-series-in-sydney-sydney-australia-2020 Random people street portaits series in Sydney. Sydney, Australia 2020.
random-people-street-portaits-series-in-sydney-sydney-australia-2020-2 Random people street portaits series in Sydney. Sydney, Australia 2020.
panunzio_portfoliodef_026 North Bondi Coast at dusk. Image part of a random people street portaits series in Sydney. Sydney, Australia 2020.
random-people-street-portaits-series-in-sydney-sydney-australia-2020-3 Random people street portaits series in Sydney. Sydney, Australia 2020.
random-people-street-portaits-series-in-sydney-sydney-australia-2020-4 Random people street portaits series in Sydney. Sydney, Australia 2020.
panunzio_portfoliodef_029med Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. Since 1883 the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome holds the largest collection of contemporary art in Italy. With 58 rooms and more than 130 thousand annual visitors, the management of the Gallery is the result of the constant work of many people. This project shows the spaces of the museum captured behind the scenes. Rome, Italy, 2018
panunzio_portfoliodef_028 Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. Since 1883 the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome holds the largest collection of contemporary art in Italy. With 58 rooms and more than 130 thousand annual visitors, the management of the Gallery is the result of the constant work of many people. This project shows the spaces of the museum captured behind the scenes. Rome, Italy, 2018
panunzio_portfoliodef_030med Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. Since 1883 the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome holds the largest collection of contemporary art in Italy. With 58 rooms and more than 130 thousand annual visitors, the management of the Gallery is the result of the constant work of many people. This project shows the spaces of the museum captured behind the scenes. Rome, Italy, 2018
panunzio_portfoliodef_031med Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea restoration laboratory. Since 1883 the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome holds the largest collection of contemporary art in Italy. With 58 rooms and more than 130 thousand annual visitors, the management of the Gallery is the result of the constant work of many people. This project shows the spaces of the museum captured behind the scenes. Rome, Italy, 2018
panunzio_portfoliodef_032med Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea restoration laboratory. Since 1883 the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome holds the largest collection of contemporary art in Italy. With 58 rooms and more than 130 thousand annual visitors, the management of the Gallery is the result of the constant work of many people. This project shows the spaces of the museum captured behind the scenes. Rome, Italy, 2018
panunzio_portfoliodef_033med Statue in a deposit of Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. Since 1883 the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome holds the largest collection of contemporary art in Italy. With 58 rooms and more than 130 thousand annual visitors, the management of the Gallery is the result of the constant work of many people. This project shows the spaces of the museum captured behind the scenes. Rome, Italy, 2018
panunzio_portfoliodef_037med Mine rail. Australia’s mining industry is a pillar of the Australian economy, with the country being one of the world’s largest exporters of coal, iron ore, bauxite, alumina, and many other resources. The gross value added by the mining industry was in the hundreds of billions of Australian dollars in the past decade alone. The real gross value added of the mining industry accounted for over nine percent of the total gross value added in Australia, making it one of the largest economic industries in the country. NSW, Australia, 2019
panunzio_portfoliodef_035med Singleton's showground. Singleton's showground is a public park located in the city of Singleton, New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest and oldest park in the region, having been established in 1872. Hunter Vallery, NSW, Australia, 2019 Singleton showground. Lo showground di Singleton è un parco pubblico situato nella città di Singleton, New South Wales, Australia. È il parco più grande e antico della regione, essendo stato istituito nel 1872. Hunter Vallery, NSW, Australia, 2019
panunzio_portfoliodef_036med Singleton resident and mine worker. The mining industry in Singleton is one of the largest in New South Wales, with numerous coal mines scattered throughout the area. The town’s coal reserves are estimated to be around 600 million tonnes, making it one of the largest coal reserves in Australia. The coal is extracted from open cut and underground mines, and is used for both domestic and industrial purposes. Hunter Vallery, NSW, Australia, 2019
guy-overlooking-palermo-palermo-italy-2018 Guy overlooking Palermo. Palermo, Italy, 2018
coronavirus-outbreak-in-sydney-2 Sydney, Australia, March 2020. The ​consequences of coronavirus in Sydney during loc​kdown. Central Business District.
panunzio_portfoliodef_039med Coal mine. Australia’s mining industry is a pillar of the Australian economy, with the country being one of the world’s largest exporters of coal, iron ore, bauxite, alumina, and many other resources. The gross value added by the mining industry was in the hundreds of billions of Australian dollars in the past decade alone. The real gross value added of the mining industry accounted for over nine percent of the total gross value added in Australia, making it one of the largest economic industries in the country. NSW, Australia, 2019

Mattia Panunzio (1992, Rome, Italy) started studying photography at 14 years old at the “Professional Institute of Cinematography R.Rossellini” in Rome. In 2015 he graduated from the European Institute of Design in Rome showcasing a project about the Agro Pontino (41°17’59”N 13°01’30”E). It was exhibited at MAP in 2016. Throughout his studies he has participated to different masterclasses and artistic residences where two of his personal projects come from. Retroscena is a documentation of The National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome and it was exhibited at the Gallery in 2019. Dal Verde is Bellosguardo’s story and it was part of “Archivio Bellosguardo” a project lead by Italian photographer Alessandro Imbriaco in collaboration with

ICCD. In 2019 he embarked on a journey to Australia in search of landscapes and realities dramatically diverse from the ones he had encountered in his home country. He’s working on a long-term project about the Australian mining industry and one of its chapters (Coober Pedy) has been published on M Le Magazine du Monde in January 2023. He currently resides in Sydney, Australia.

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Stories

Coober Pedy
Zorro

Exhibitions & Screenings

2022 APA Exhibition at Bodriggy Brewpub, Melbourne, Australia
2020 “Vision” by Head On at The SHAC Gallery, Robertson, Australia
2019 “Un Paese ci vuole” at Castello Campori, Soliera, Italy
2019 “Archivio Bellosguardo” at ICCD, Rome, Italy
2019 “Ritratto di Famiglia” at La Galleria Nazionale in Rome, Italy
2019 “Archivio Bellosguardo – 20|25” at Bellosguardo, Italy
2018 Collective exhibition at LAB174 Rome, Italy
2017 Collective exhibition at LAB174 Rome, Italy
2016 “Metamorfosi e Metafisiche” at MAP in Pontinia, Italy
2015 “SienAssisi” at The Library of Chamber of Deputies in Rome, Italy