We stand with 🇺🇦 STOP WAR
Surrealism

Through glass, mirrors, boundaries and thresholds

Variations on the theme “looking through and deriving a complex image from it.”

Split image. Rome, Piazza Augusto Imperatore, June 9, 2026.

Cities are full of passages, thresholds and boundaries that can be crossed physically or gazed through to see beyond.

Often, these crossings are mediated by a sheet of glass, which defines the boundary between inside and outside. At times, the glass may act as a barrier, concentrating the object and its reflection into a single image and preventing the eyes from seeing beyond. At other times, the glass may act as a passageway, allowing the gaze to traverse from one side to the other. Alternatively, the glass may blur the two planes by reflecting back both transparency and a reflection simultaneously.

Through that arch or not? Rome, Piazza della CittĂ  Leonina, September 22, 2026.

In any case, every threshold and passage represents an opportunity for the photographer to capture an ambiguous and complex image.

This allows them to create a photograph in which the overlapping of planes and the juxtaposition of randomly placed elements through reflection and transparency reveal the anarchic complexity of things and people, and the not always hierarchical relationship between background and subject.

The lights seem to spread out into the night. Medesano (PR), Medesano Ovest rest stop, May 11, 2026.
Glass can reflect or allow light to pass through. Rome, Largo Magnanapoli, October 29, 2026.
Inside and Outside. Milan, Via Ansperto, April 23, 2026.
Nightmares. Rome, Via del Corso, October 24, 2026.
In Front of and Behind the Glass. Rome, Via della Stazione di San Pietro, May 21, 2026.
Virtual dialogue. Rome, Via del Corso, October 8, 2026.
A blurred smile indoors. Rome, Via del Mascherino, July 15, 2026.
Looking through. Rome, St. Peter’s Square, June 6, 2026.
TELL Your STORIES
Support PRIVATE Photo Review Support us today →

Pietro Coppa

Nato e vissuto a Roma, fotografo per antica passione.

Leave your opinion:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Stories

Back to top button
×
Close

Adblock Detected

We do non post commercial ads. We only promote our internal services
Please whitelist PRIVATE Photo Review