The image paths by Alice Zorzin

Alice Zorzin’s photographs guide us through a fragile landscape, marked by change. Her work is not merely documentary—it delivers powerful, often painful imagery. It’s a gaze that traverses valleys not only with the eyes, but with the respect and care of someone who understands the value of the stories that inhabit these places.

Alice Zorzin is a documentary photographer and visual researcher living between Monfalcone and the Alps. After earning a degree in art history, she decided to dedicate herself fully to photography. In her visual narratives, Alice focuses on the ways people react to and interact with their environment, both as individuals and as communities. Her work captures stories centered on themes such as cultural identity, memory, the past, traditions, and climate change, using a research method that aligns with ethnography. Her photographs have been exhibited in Italy and published in international outlets such as Vogue, Artribune and Exibart. In 2024, she collaborated with the broadcaster Arte and director Sebastian Saam on a documentary film about the effects of climate change in the Julian Alps and how local inhabitants live with and adapt to it. In addition to her personal and research projects, Alice also shares her knowledge of photography with enthusiasts and teaches visual storytelling in various Alpine towns.

Her most recent project, All begins with a rain of needles(2024 – ongoing), addresses one of the most severe environmental crises affecting the Italian Alps: the bark beetle epidemic, an insect devastating millions of red spruces in Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Beginning with the symbolic image of falling needles—a sign of a tree’s death—the project explores both the efforts of researchers, foresters, and lumberjacks to contain the phenomenon, and the human, emotional, and cultural consequences this devastation is causing in local communities.

In this episode, Kukerle, Zorzin analyzes the photograph Carico Quotidiano (1975), in which a woman is working in the fields. Bent, but not broken under the weight of the hay, the image is more than just a work scene: it is a powerful portrayal of dignity, resilience, and care. It highlights an often overlooked aspect of mountain narratives: the role of women’s labor as an integral part of Alpine society. The inspiration of Trentino photographer Flavio Faganello is clearly evident in Zorzin’s work: like him, she is a chronicler of her time and place. If Faganello was able to convey the dignity of Alpine life and labor with an empathetic gaze, Zorzin carries on his ethical and visual legacy, turning her attention today to a wounded yet still living landscape, questioning the traces of the present and the possibilities of the future.

If you wish to explore Zorzin’s work further, her project Lêntamente is currently on display in Udine (Spazio Lêntamente, Piazzale Carnia 2). It tells the story of the marangon friulano—the traditional Friulian carpenter—through photographs, objects, testimonials, and sounds. The project was conceived and carried out by five young women under 30 — Eleonora Majeroni, Isabella Masutti, Annalisa Micheletti, Ilaria Gasparotto — with photographic contributions by Alice Zorzin. It presents a collective narrative that unites past and present. Visits to the exhibition are by appointment, by writing to: progettolentamente@gmail.com.

Alice Zorzin, exhibition installation Lêntamente, 2025 (courtesy Zorzin)

Listen: Kukerle_Zorzin

We invite you to explore her work in greater depth by visiting the full project on the Alice Zorzin’s website

In the photos: Alice Zorzin, All begins with a rain of needles, 2024 (courtesy of Zorzin) and portrait of Alice Zorzin (courtesy of the artist)