Thrilled to announce that my project Critical Minerals: The Geography of Energy is featured in a 24-page publication in the latest issue of GEO Germany!
Excited to share that I’ve been interviewed in the latest issue of Tutti Fotografi, where I talk about my work, my approach to reportage, and the evolution of my projects—from Critical Minerals to Dusha.
I am proud to announce that one of my images has been selected for the National Geographic Picture of the Year issue, a format that summarizes the finest work of hundreds of NatGeo photographers on the field.
This year’s feature is about my series about the DAWN project, in Germany. The image represents a synthetic fluid, made using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide, that has the potential to replace fossil fuels. It could be used to power trucks, ships, and planes without retrofitting. In June, Swiss company Synhelion opened the world’s first industrial-scale plant to produce the energy alternative.
Check it out at this link.
To read the full story, please visit NG’s website here.
Critical Minerals exhibition review on Vogue Italia.
The installation, promoted by the Deloitte Foundation and hosted by MUDEC Milano, has been recognized among the current best photography exhibitions in the country.
Check the full article here.
“L’energia pulita è un sogno e una necessità, ma dietro la transizione verde ci sono anche costi sociali e danni ambientali che non conosciamo e che nessuno ci mostra. Il fotografo Davide Monteleone per due anni ha viaggiato nel mondo per raccontare le storie delle materie prime che stanno scrivendo il nostro futuro".”
Grazie a Mario Calabresi. che ha dedicato la sua newsletter settimanale a Critical Minerals, parlando del progetto attraverso un’analisi articolata e attenta.
Clicca qui per saperne di più.
Critical Minerals MUDEC exhibition review on National Geographic Italia
The Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reviewed the exhibition Critical Minerals at Mudec in Milan.
From Nov. 9, 2024, the exhibition of the 2nd Edition of the Deloitte Photo Grant opens to the public at MUDEC, Milano, curated by Denis Curti and the BlackCamera Team.
This year the installation hosts my work Critical Minerals - Geography of Energy, and Dust from Home by Fernanda Liberti, the Brazilian photographer who won the 2023 edition.
The exhibition presents a mix of medium- and large-format images, flanked by aerial shots and photographs made using the stitching technique: a digital fusion of 8-10 individual shots to provide a panoramic and immersive perspective.
The installation is further enriched by a video component designed to intensify the immersive experience. Sounds, voices, and evocative landscapes transport the visitor into a unique sensory dimension.
The data visualization section, curated by Valentina D'Efilippo, plays a key role in providing a clear and in-depth picture of the project, offering details and information crucial to understanding the scope of the work.
A volume published by 24 ORE Cultura accompanies the display, designed by Hannah Feldmeier, where this project is, for the first time, presented in its entirety.
From November 7 to Nov. 10, 2024, you can find a selection of prints from the project at Galleria Valeria Bella's booth n. D11, at Paris Photo.
Interview with the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2024 Winners.
On the evening of 10th October 2024, the 44th edition of the prestigious Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) was presented to Swiss-based photographer, Davide Monteleone. His series titled, “Critical Minerals — Geography of Energy” is an on-going, long-term study where Monteleone questions the current reorientation of the energy towards renewable sources, and the complicated geographical, social and ecological impact they have.
We speak with Monteleone about this extremely relevant topic in today’s world, and the challenges he faced — and is still facing — in covering this through photography.
As the 2024 winner project, Critical Minerals - Geography of Energy will be featured in LFI Special Edition magazine, available for purchase at this link.
Preface – Karin Rehn-Kaufmann
Winner 2024
Davide Monteleone: Critical Minerals – Geography of Energy
Newcomer 2024
Maria Guţu: Homeland
Shortlist:
Forough Alaei: Underneath the Calm Streets of Iran
Anush Babajanyan: Nagorno-Karabakh War and Exodus
Emily Garthwaite: Tears of the Tigris
Ksenia Ivanova: Between the Trees of the South Caucasus
Lucas Lenci: Inattention Era
Adriana Loureiro Fernández: Paradise Lost
Sara Meneses Cuapio: Raízhambre
Tong Niu: Express Delivery
Ingmar Björn Nolting: An Anthology of Changing Climate
Etinosa Yvonne: It’s All in my Head
Critical Minerals – Geography of Energy won the 44th Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA)!
How can we build a sustainable future without making the same mistakes? For this project, I wanted to explore the shift to renewable energy and its challenges.
Through a mix of visuals and data, Critical Minerals explores the complex geopolitical, social, and environmental impacts of intensive mining. I focused on three key minerals—copper, lithium, and cobalt—and their extraction in Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia due to their critical role in the green energy transition.
Huge thanks to Benedetta Donato for nominating my project, and to the jury for recognizing how important and urgent this topic is. Shoutout to my awesome teammates Manuel Montesano and Samantha Azzani, and the incredible local storytellers Cristobal Olivares, Guerchom Ndebo, and Muhammad Fadli.
Also, a massive thank you to all the amazing institutions that supported me from day one, The National Geographic Society, The Climate Pledge.
This project is truly a collaborative effort, and I’m beyond proud that it’s been recognized as a key part of the conversation around energy transition.
In the fight for less CO2 in the air, ideas are being developed that sound like science fiction. An insight into technologies that are in their infancy - and could change the world.
On Annabelle Magazine
La questione e urgente e pressante: può la tecnologia aiutarci a risolvere la crisi climatica? Davide monteleone ha provato a rispondere a questa domanda, intraprendendo numerosi viaggi in tutta l'europa con il suo team per visitare alcune delle principali istituzioni nel campo delle tecnologie ccus (cattura e stoccaggio del carbonio), che puntano sulla rimozione della co2 dall'atmosfera per contribuire a combattere il riscaldamento globale. Nelle strutture visitate nel corso del reportage si sono viste differenti soluzioni possibili: grandi macchine che estraggono co2 dall'aria, impianti dove l'anidride carbonica viene iniettata nel sottosuolo e contenitori sottomarini che permettono di immagazzinarla sotto il fondale marino. Alcune aziende, inoltre, hanno trovato un modo per riciclare la co, mentre altre coltivano microalghe per assorbirila.
I am honored to announce that "Critical Minerals - Geography of Energy" has been chosen as the Deloitte Photo Grant 2024 winner project. This year's theme fosters the concept of Possibilities, aiming to stimulate a public debate on the weight of contemporary collective responsibilities and global challenges.
I am beyond proud that this collective work has been recognized as relevant to this important topic. I must thank the collaborators and institutions that have supported me since the beginning of this adventure: The National Geographic Society, The Climate Pledge, the great local storytellers Cristòbal Olivares, Guerchom Ndebo, Muhammad Fadli, and my trusted teammates Manuel Montesano, and Samantha Azzani. Cheers also to Pierre Podbielski for the nomination and to the jury members for the special consideration given to my work.
[More info here]
I am thrilled to share that "Critical Minerals - Geography of Energy" is among the shortlisted candidates for the 44th edition of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), one of the most renowned international photography competitions.
My most sincere gratitude goes to Benedetta Donato for nominating my project, it means a lot to me to see my work recognized on such a relevant level.
Stay tuned for the next steps of the process.
[More info here]
An excerpt from my documentary about the Northern Sea Route from Murmansk (Russia) to Huanghua (China) has been featured on the Italian TV broadcast “Newsroom”. Back in 2012, I embarked on a cargo ship named Nordic Odyssey to follow the Nordic route for commerce, now viable only because of the ice-melting that allows ships to go through a once-impassable way: a tangible effect of climate change.
The episode can be seen at this link.
I'm thrilled to announce that the Cobalt Chapter from the "Critical Minerals - Geography of Energy” project has been selected as a Winner at the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards. The work gained third place in the "Professional - Documentary Projects" category.
To discover more, please visit Sony's website here.
A few weeks ago, on assignment for National Geographic, I spent a couple of days in Julich, Germany, documenting the official introduction of the DAWN project, the world’s first industrial solar fuel facility.
Synhelion, an innovative spin-off company from ETH Zurich, created the plant to convert CO2 into sustainable fuels, aiming to decarbonize the transportation sector.
Currently in the commissioning phase, DAWN will start producing solar fuels in 2024. The first fuel batches will showcase the potential across various transportation sectors. Looking ahead, Synhelion plans to build a commercial solar fuel plant in Spain by 2025, with a capacity of 1,000 tons of solar fuel per year.
The series is now released on the National Geographic Website.
To read the full article, please click here.
I'm thrilled to announce that the Cobalt Chapter from the "Critical Minerals - Geography of Energy” project has been selected as a finalist at the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards.
I am delighted to announce that I will unveil four new pieces from the "Critical Minerals - Geography of Energy" series at Arte Fiera 2024 at Galleria Valeria Bella.
I am proud to announce that two of my images were selected for the National Geographic Picture of the Year issue, a format that summarizes the finest work of hundreds of NatGeo photographers on the field.
You can check them all out at this link.
One of the images of 'Sinomocene' is the cover of AidData's new Belt and Road Reboot report.
I enjoyed attending the National Geographic Festival in Milan, whose theme this year was “Capitale Naturale” (Natural Capital)…
"100 River OB" will be displayed at Galleria Valeria Bella, boot E05, on the occasion of Paris Photo, from November 9th to November 12th, 2023.
The French edition of National Geographic has got in touch to create a “Behind the scenes” insert, in which they asked me to tell the story behind one of the pictures of my series about Carbon Removal. It was fun to retrace the process which led to the creation of one of the most curious images in the project.
Click here to read the full article.
Last year, I had the honor to be invited to the TEDX Milano to talk about my experience documenting the development of science to reach a cleaner future and to raise awareness about the current dynamics of the energetic green transition. The recording of the live evening is finally available online, and it can be seen here.
Last year, I embarked on multiple trips throughout Europe with my team to visit some of the leading institutions in the field of CCUS technologies. The result of this work is now released in the National Geographic Magazine’s November issue as a cover story.
A few weeks ago I spent a couple of days documenting the innovative and young company Alps Blockchain, on assignment for Wired.
In the beautiful scenery of the Italian Alps, I got to know a new, interesting entrepreneurial reality that will probably go a long way in its chosen field.
An image of my long-term project "Sinomocene" has been included in Prix Pictet's publication "Human", a selection of outstanding photographs by both shortlisted and non-shortlisted nominees that best reflect the current cycle's theme.
Published by Hatje Cantz the publication includes a foreword by Sir David King, Chairman of the Prix Pictet Jury, together with essays by David Christian & Meehan Crist.
I had the pleasure to be invited to Langhe Photo Festival, in Neive (CN), to exhibit a selection of my work Sinomocene and to hold a lecture, on September 3rd.
