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Stefano Balma
My name is Stefano Balma, and I am a landscape photographer, born in Turin in 1988.
At every stage of my life, I have devoted myself to some form of art, such as drawing and music. In 2018, I moved to Genoa, where I discovered photography, which I have explored and developed as a self-taught artist during my travels.
My photographs, mainly focused on natural landscapes and details, stem from a desire to explore introspective themes that are very dear to me, such as the relationship between matter and time, the sense of impermanence, and our connection with the world around us.
I will never forget the emotion I felt the first time I saw a glacier.
It happened during my first trip to Iceland: standing in front of the towering ice walls of Skaftafell felt like being in the presence of an ancient being. I watched in silence for several minutes, until, between its crevasses, I noticed a shape that resembled a grimace of agony, eerily similar to the face in Edvard Munch’s iconic painting The Scream.
I was deeply shaken.
That vision became the starting point for this photographic series, which brings together images captured during my travels in Iceland and Greenland, with the aim of visually narrating the melting process of Arctic glaciers as part of a cycle of continuous transformation.
The ever-changing nature of ice makes each landscape unique and unrepeatable. This constant transformation invites reflection on the flow of life and its impermanence, while also serving as a stark warning: Arctic regions are undergoing a profound transformation, subjected to unprecedented climatic and geopolitical pressures.
The future of these ecosystems is uncertain—threatened by their strategic position and the presumed abundance of natural resources that make them the focus of global competition. And yet, their protection is crucial for the future of humanity.
The agony we read in the ice today may one day be reflected in the faces of future generations.
Skaftafell glacier, Iceland - October 2021
Disko Bay, Greenland - August 2024
Iceland - October 2021
Iceland - August 2023