 Parigi, settembre 2018. ©Giovanni Del Brenna Primo raccolto sul tetto delL'Opera Bastille. Melanzane, fagiolini, pomodori, erbe aromatiche coltivate e cresciute lì. Il progetto è stato ideato da e gestito da Topager. Lo spazio è stato reso disponibile nel corso della prima call per i progetti "Parisculteurs" istituiti dal Comune di Parigi. First harvest on the roof of the Opera Bastille. Eggplants, green beans, pastries, tomatoes, aromatic herbs are grown there. Project designed and operated by Topager. Space made available during the first call for projects “Parisculteurs” set up by the City of Paris. Paris XIIe, September 2018. |
 Nanterre, aprile 2019. © Giovanni Del Brenna Orto verticale installato da METRO Francia e INFARM nel magazzino del supermercato METRO di Nanterre. Le erbe aromatiche crescono in coltura idroponica, tutto l'anno, senza pesticidi . L'idroponica è una tecnica di cultura priva del terreno: le radici delle piante sono immerse in una soluzione nutritiva minerale. Vertical vegetable garden installed by METRO France and INFARM in the METRO warehouse in Nanterre. Aromatic herbs grow throughout the year without pesticides in hydroponics. Hydroponics is a technique of soil-less culture : plants’ roots are immersed in a mineral nutrient solution. Nanterre, April 2019. |
 Parigi, aprile 2019. ©Giovanni Del Brenna Orto sul tetto di Bon Marché, progettato e gestito da Topager, erbe aromatiche e insalate sono destinati agli chef di La Table Restaurant di La Grande Epicerie de Paris. Vegetable garden on the Bon Marché’s roof, designed and maintained by Topager, aromatic herbs, edible fowers and salads are for the chefs of La Table Restaurant of La Grande Epicerie de Paris. Paris VIIe, April 2019. |
 Parigi, 16 settembre 2018. © Giovanni Del Brenna Le pecore dell'associazione Clinamen attraversano il Parc de la Villette durante l'apertura della transumanza dei Rencontres Agricoles du Grand Paris organizzata da Enlarge Your Paris e Les Bergers Urbains. The sheep of the Clinamen association cross the Parc de la Villette during the inaugural transhumance of the Rencontres Agricoles du Grand Paris organised by Enlarge Your Paris and Les Bergers Urbains. Paris, 16 September 2018. |
Giovanni Del Brenna
PARIS AGRICOLE • Urban Agricolture
Giovanni Del Brenna documented the evolution of a particular Parisian urban project that aims to turn more than 100 hectares into areas intended for agricultural production.
Each photograph reveals innovative ways to grow organic products in the very heart of one of the main European capitals: strawberries grown in containers, vertical farms that are directly connected to one of the biggest French supermarket, vegetable gardens on the rooftop of some historical buildings near the Opera Bastille.
“Urban agriculture” is an oxymoron that has become reality, a new way of life that challenges the photographer’s eye. A magnificent visual playground that shows a very positive evolution in Paris – two worlds, a priori contrasting, connected: the countryside and the city, the natural and the artificial
SPECS
Number of Photographs: 54 colour photographs, printed on 24 panels*
(every panel features from a maxiumum of 3 to a minimum of 1 photo)
Size of the Panels: 80×160 cm
Support/Mounting: Dibond
*the panels are suitable for outdoor installations
Giovanni Del Brenna was born in Genoa in 1974. He grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he attended French school. He later moved to Milan, Italy, and graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano. He decided then to follow his first passion: photography.
He graduated in 2002 from the Documentary Photography and Photojournalism Program of the International Center of Photography of New York, joined Grazia Neri Agency the same year and assisted James Nachtwey until March 2004. His work has been exhibited in New York, Milan and Lisbon and Metz, and has been published in Le Monde, New York Times, GQ Italia, Condenast Traveller Italia, Vanity Fair Italia, IL, Amica, Geo and Stern among other publications.
In June 2006 Hermès Italy commissioned him the photos for the book “L’aria di Firenze”, and in 2011 EDF assigned him to photograph power-plants in Lorraine for the book “En Produisant par la Lorraine”. He has been nominated New Photographer 2007 for advertisement by Getty Images.
In July 2014, he published his book Ibidem, a project on cities that he started in 2002. Since 2017 he has been documenting the urban agricolture phenomena.
 Paris Agricole - Hotel de Ville de Paris - 2019 |
 Paris Agricole - Hotel de Ville de Paris - 2019 |
 Paris Agricole - Hotel de Ville de Paris - 2019 |
 Paris Agricole - Hotel de Ville de Paris - 2019 |