More CLOSE

During the summer I have been mostly working on CLOSE, the project about my neighbours, which I posted some pictures earlier this year. After making contact with about ten of them and focusing in one single portrait, while discovering who they are and what I want from them, I now feel I want to go deeper with a few.

Pola cannot go out often because of some health problems. However she is one of the most popular people I ever met. She lives with her husband, two of her children, one of her nephews, a friend of her son and two dogs. Every time I went to see her she either had friends over or was on the phone with one of them. In this photo she poses with Adam, her youngest son.

Neepa has been living here with her 2 children for about 3 years, while her second husband has moved a few months ago. I took their portrait on the day of the end of Ramadan.

Federico and Nute met in Thailand a few years ago. They live 6 months here and six there. It took me a while to convince Federico to be part of my project while Nute didn’t ask too many questions.

Bill has been trying to decorate his flat for the past 5 years. He lives alone and he works night shift. Although he doesn’t talk much with any of his neighbours, he let me take his portrait the first time I asked.

Yane has just moved to this flat. His much happier now that he doesn't have to share. He let me in the first time I knocked at his door. As a gift he gave me his old TV.

ELLIE'S FIRST COMMUNION

I can’t remember exactly when my interest on gypsy has started, but I feel like I always wanted to photograph them. One of my degrees piece, Kids, focus on a group on children living in a caravan site in a small Italian town.
Ellie is a gypsy child that lives in London. I met her and her family last spring, while I was trying to get in touch with any London based community. It was not easy to approach them and it’s still hard to get in touch with them, however they have declared me their official photographer. I have got the feeling this project will last for a very long time.

JOY

This project is inspired by the story of a homosexual man, born and raised in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is punishable by death.
Anonymity is an important part of his life. That is why I decided to use the fictional name of Joy.

The marriage between Joy’s parents was arranged. His father went to Egypt to buy his mother “because women there are more beautiful and open then in Arabia Saudi”, as he told me.

At seventeen he won a scholarship and was forced by his parents to study civil engineering abroad. After three years however he found the courage to drop his studies and move to Florence to pursue his real passion, fashion design.

Alone and without the support of his family Joy felt the chance to express himself. “In Italy I had to start from the beginning, but it is in this time that I fell in love with myself”.

In 2007 he was selected to be part of a reality show contest as a fashion designer. This experience not only gave him professional experience but also allowed him to gain a bit of his family’s love back.

The story of Joy’s life is full of humiliation and isolation. Nevertheless in his words and his face I could not see a trace of anger. On the contrary, he never stopped smiling.

Joy has an androgynous face and a petite figure. Sometimes, as it is in his passport, he has to wear the traditional Arab dress, but he feels at ease with himself only when he wears woman clothes.

I decided to work with a set of macro portraits to let him remain anonymous. Also in this way I can tell about his his fragmentation and isolation.

He composed the background music himself.

CLOSE

I was born in a small Italian village. The houses all looked alike, everyone spoke the same dialect, families grew up, worked and died in the village. Our collective experience was intimate and common to all of us.
Three years ago I moved to London and have stayed at my current residence for most of this time. My building is made of 20 flats, 10 in each of the 2 floors.
CLOSE is about the residents who populate my building. The idea comes from my desire to meet them. I am interested in seeing how many will let me do it and eventually discovering the similarities between us and the space and we live.
So far I photographer five of them, three have said no and everybody else haven't opened their doors yet.

Richard was born in this flat. He moved out in his twenties and came back when his father died to take care of his mother. He used to enjoy taking landscape photographs. He showed me his collection of cameras and photography magazines. When I met him after the shooting he told me he has been thinking about going back taking pictures

Harry is a graphic designer. I asked him what was his favourite place in the house he said his bedroom

Rose has been living here since 1954. She had three strokes and she has cancer. When I asked her what she would take with her in case of fire she said her medicines

Jasper and Lu has been best friends for 20 years. Lu moved down from the Midlands two weeks ago because she lost her job. Jasper found her a place at King’s Cross train station, where they both work as train cleaner. When I asked Jasper what was the weirder lost object he had found he said a fake leg

Nima is 45 years old and she has 7 children. Her eldest daughter and she didn’t want to be photographed. When I went back to give her same copies she said she will have her portrait taken too