Petra Spielhagen: Neptune’s...01

The Regno di Nettuno is an 11,000 hectare marine reserve in the Gulf of Naples. The closed surface of the water does not suggest that beneath it lies the Cuma Gorge, up to 1000 meters deep. The submarine canyon system is a habitat of large marine mammals whose populations are constantly studied. The most important tool is the monitoring of marine animals with camera and hydrophone. Petra Spielhagen participated on a research vessel and tried to see dolphins or whales for days. In the moving and closed surface of the sea the sea inhabitants are very difficult to see. The non-visibility of the gigantic underwater space was impressive. So was the days-long visual search. After her photographic works on the industrialized landscape at night, the deep ocean space is a very special landscape space in daylight.