Railway stations are crossing and meeting places, between different social classes, ethnicities and cultures, populated by flows of people suspended in time. The windows of train create â??still imagesâ??, as a sequence of frames in a film. Stories told with a face, an expression, an action; everything magically framed by the windows. A deceptively intimate dimension, which deprives the travelers of the own mask, at least for a moment.
Valerio Bellone was born in Palermo in 1979. Since childhood, encouraged by his parents to travel, develops a great curiosity about cultural diversity. Thanks to the contact with other places, he matures critical and observational skills. Due to the ability to store his own emotions and to urge those of others, at the age of 15, he becomes passionate of the photography and he starts his young "career".
At the age of 19, after getting a degree in Graphics and Advertisement (1999), he decides to take a trip of 6 months in the australian bush, a place that will become a source of inspiration for him. The fascination generated by wild places and the passion for photography will push him towards unique and unforgettable visual pathways.
In 2001 he went to Cuba to make a photographic project about transports, called: Trasporti di fortuna".
On his return to Italy he wins a scholarship that allowed him to enter the IED (European Institute of Design in Turin). Here he obtains a diploma in Digital and Virtual Design.
In 2006 he goes back to Australia where he stays for a year working on various fields of photography: tourism and travel magazines and where he also works on a Vietnamese project.
Fascinated by the painting of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, he begins a study on the role that light plays in our lives.
As passionated of Japanese culture, in 2009, he makes a reportage named: "Tokyo all in one". Project dedicated to the 27,000 people who died in the earthquake occurred east of Sendai city - Friday, March 11th, 2011.
Between the 2010 and 2011 he makes several projects in his home town Palermo, in particular "Di passaggio", that becomes his first exhibition: from april 21th to may 14th 2011, at VirtualZisa space.
At the end of 2011 he goes back to Australia, to realise a project about the mix of people in Sydney, entitled "Sydneysiders".
In the 2012 he goes to Thailand where he lives a short time and where he produces two reportages: "Muay Thai" and "Karen Villagge"; and a project, entitled "Sleeping Thai".
From march 17th to april 14th 2012 he exhibits, edited by Galleria X3, at the Mondadori Multicenter in Palermo, a project entitled "Flussi", realized between 2010 and 2012.
He calls himself a citizen of the world and doesn't like political boundaries. He is currently pursuing several projects, including the writing of a book.
Awards PX3 2012
Black and White Spider Award 2012
