Emiliano Ponzi's dark illustrated glimpse into the lives of others

Date
26 October 2012

People watching is ok isn’t it? Good clean fun, the kind of thing you’d find in a Lonely Planet guide book (“the cafe is a great place for people-watching…”). But voyeurism? Yuck. You disgust me. How dare you snoop into other people’s lives like that. It’s a tricky line to negotiate but thanks to the brilliant illustrator Emiliano Ponzi we can all indulge our nosey sides at an exhibition in Rome.

The Sunrise Hotel is a project whereby a hotel-like structure has been built in the Wunderkammern gallery and visitors can peer at the inhabitants’ goings-on through a series of peep-holes – and what goings-on are there to spy. With titles like Alcoholic Mom, Slave and Crime Scene, Emiliano has produced an extraordinary set of scenes glorifying in the seediest parts of society’s underbelly. With sex, death and neglect all present and correct this is an interesting project about the perseverance of private vices in an increasingly public society.

Emilano’s work is part of the Suspension of Disbelief show which also features Spanish street artist Escif who we featured on the site in July. It runs until the end of October.

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Emilano Ponzi: Alcoholic Mom for the Sunrise Hotel

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Emilano Ponzi: Asshole for the Sunrise Hotel

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Emilano Ponzi: Bear Wife for the Sunrise Hotel

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Emilano Ponzi: Bear for the Sunrise Hotel

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Emilano Ponzi: Crime Scene for the Sunrise Hotel

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Emilano Ponzi: Newlyweds for the Sunrise Hotel

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Emilano Ponzi: Room Cleaner for the Sunrise Hotel

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Emilano Ponzi: Sister for the Sunrise Hotel

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Emilano Ponzi: The Sunrise Hotel (photograph by Alberto Guerril)

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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