Photographer Luca Battaglia describes himself plainly: “I do not claim—nor do I ever say—that I am an architectural photographer,” he says in a statement. “When asked, I say that I am a photographer of places, of voids.” From the expanses of the American Southwest to images of New York City attuned to quiet rather than bustle, he finds his subject in built environments and the atmospheres they hold. His ongoing series Ticket non remboursable (“non-refundable ticket”) turns to carousels in city squares and parks across Europe, framing them as emblems of memory and transformation.
A centuries-old ride, reimagined
The carousel’s lineage reaches back to medieval jousting, with pomp, horses, and ceremonial display. By the late 17th century, official royal jousts had faded, and by the late 18th century mechanical carousels arrived, their bedecked equines and tournament-inspired motifs ushering in a new urban spectacle. Over the following century, the attractions evolved into feats of craftsmanship, layered with painted, hand-carved ornament. For Battaglia, that continuum signals a “timelessness” that carries a powerful nostalgia. Raised in Milan, he recalls a carousel he encountered as a child—now gone—that anchors his fascination. “The project began with my fascination for carousels, not simply as attractions, but as objects connected to memory, childhood, movement, and the transformation of public space,” the artist tells Colossal.
Long exposures and the pulse of the plaza
Battaglia photographs the rides in motion, pushing toward abstraction. “I photograph them using long exposures, trying to move away from their literal appearance and reveal something more abstract and suspended,” he says. Technically, he often uses an ND256 or ND1000 neutral density filter to enable exposures of approximately 20 to 30 seconds. “During this time, the movement of the carousel traces lines across the photograph: the structure partly disappears, while light, colour, and movement create a new image.” In his images, embellishments and familiar figures dissolve into bands of rotating light, with an emphasis on the crown that can render the forms almost UFO-like.
The series scans public space across the continent, where an everyday fixture of parks and plazas becomes otherworldly under Battaglia’s gaze. Places noted alongside his photographs include:
- Toulouse
- Grenoble
- Nice
- Marseille
- Charles Michels, Paris
- Dijon
- Tuileries, Paris
- Tikkimäki
- Deauville
- Bercy, Paris
- Honfleur
Across these sites, Ticket non remboursable traces how light and motion can recast a familiar ride as a study of place—where history, childhood recollection, and the choreography of public life converge.
