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Empire of the Night: Urban photography series transforms cityscapes through clever use of light

The Empire of the Night photography series by Luca Campigotto has been curated using work from previous projects, such as Gotham City, alongside some unpublished images never before exhibited.

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Illuminated shipping containers stacked on a cargo ship at night, with industrial cranes and port infrastructure reflected in dark water below

The overriding theme that links the series is simply architecture and light – the combination of which creates strikingly beautiful results. The series is currently being exhibited at the Bugno Art Gallery, Venice, until 31 June 2016.

Campigotto's artist statement reads: "Vision has the power to create our knowledge and it orients our memory. As a photographer, my fate is to remain forever hostage to my own gaze. Destined to the mission of memory, to the circular motion of nostalgia.”

The photographer's work has taken him around the world, from Tokyo to Iran. Each image presents a unique spin on street photography, transforming the scenes into ethereal, otherworldly spaces.

Via direct submission | All images courtesy of Bugno Art Gallery

Elevated view down illuminated Chicago railway tracks at night, flanked by steel industrial structures on the left and historic stone buildings on the right
Monochrome view down a narrow urban alley with deteriorating concrete walls pitted with holes, containing discarded cylindrical objects on the ground
Roman Forum ruins illuminated at night, with ancient columns and temple structures against a dark sky in Luca Campigotto's Empire of the Night series
A large cargo ship illuminated at night docked beneath a towering industrial crane at a shipping port, with a cruise ship visible in the background
Looking up into a classical domed rotunda with an ornate coffered ceiling and a circular oculus opening to bright light above, flanked by fluted columns
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