Ana Vieira de Castro - Memories in Lost Time and Space

Memories Lost in Time and Space clutches onto the liminal, changing moments in our lives. It is about feelings of anxiousness, uncertain expectations, and the difficulty of finding your sense of self when lost in love; the process of forgetting strong memories and feelings as you find new ones, meeting your new self and letting your worn identities go; and the transition periods that lead our lives towards what awaits. 

For photographer Ana Vieira de Castro, this project started as a search for the meaning of true love, and represents her process of falling in love. Last year was a turning point in her life, to which she sought to document her memories through photography and mix them with letters and postcards found in antique stores. A compilation of letters from lover to lover– heartbreak, marriage, being in love and not being together– present the range of emotions felt when falling in and out of love. Through the process, Ana found that somehow, the memories that once belonged to someone are now enmeshed with hers, representing her past self, and what she was once searching for. 

- Alexa Fahlman


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Porto, 9th of September of 1964  João Marcos:Sorry if I am bothering you again, but I would like to say the thoughts I still carry. At all times I find myself revisiting the latest events and I always end up not coming to a conclusion. Meanwhile, it…

Porto, 9th of September of 1964

João Marcos:

Sorry if I am bothering you again, but I would like to say the thoughts I still carry. At all times I find myself revisiting the latest events and I always end up not coming to a conclusion. Meanwhile, it seems to me, I am sorry and please don’t wish me bad, you did not behave perfectly. You told me in your letter that you took the misunderstanding between us as a result of my youth.

João Marcos, you know, that although I’m already 22 years old, my life has been very simple. Maybe that’s why my head cherishes so many dreams. Don’t think I’m trying to change your mind, but since we broke up I would like to be as honest as possibl…

João Marcos, you know, that although I’m already 22 years old, my life has been very simple. Maybe that’s why my head cherishes so many dreams. Don’t think I’m trying to change your mind, but since we broke up I would like to be as honest as possible with you. I was hoping João Marcos, that you would understand the illusions, ideas, aspirations and faith in life that I carry. Although you tried to destroy something in me, I will do everything for that not to happen. I believe that God will help me walk the path of life with the same hope and idealizations that I had and that until now, have been part of myself.

I hoped that you had understood all of this, that being silent does not always mean that I have nothing to say, but there is so much to say that sometimes you end up being afraid of doing so.

Sometimes you want to say yes, but you end up saying no.

You that have a sister, that you care for so much , must understand. It was with you that I got in touch with love for the first time, and for that, like everyone that starts something, I failed.   I failed so many times and for that I’m sorry.   I …

You that have a sister, that you care for so much , must understand. It was with you that I got in touch with love for the first time, and for that, like everyone that starts something, I failed.

I failed so many times and for that I’m sorry.

I only ask for you to always remember of

Cidália

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May, 19-05-78   Dear Isaurita,   After our phone call I got immensely sad for two reasons, 1st, my son only brings me sadness and sorrows and 2nd, the fact that you can’t come over. Our best years go by as we drift apart. I want you and you are not …

May, 19-05-78

Dear Isaurita,

After our phone call I got immensely sad for two reasons, 1st, my son only brings me sadness and sorrows and 2nd, the fact that you can’t come over. Our best years go by as we drift apart. I want you and you are not near.

Kisses from Berto

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Dear Isaurita,  How are you? I’m doing fine. A week has gone by and I am closer to being with you, whom I miss so much. It is only unfortunate that you can’t come meet me. Think about it.Kisses from Berto

Dear Isaurita,

How are you? I’m doing fine. A week has gone by and I am closer to being with you, whom I miss so much. It is only unfortunate that you can’t come meet me. Think about it.

Kisses from Berto

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2/07/1967  Dear Tereza,  When I get there I want to spend an afternoon with you. We have much to talk about. I loved having you here, we really enjoyed ourselves. Kisses to Terezinha.Big hug and kissesLuis

2/07/1967

Dear Tereza,

When I get there I want to spend an afternoon with you. We have much to talk about. I loved having you here, we really enjoyed ourselves. Kisses to Terezinha.

Big hug and kisses

Luis

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Alexandre Desane - Crépus

Born in France to parents of Haitian descent, photographer Alexandre Desane remarks how natural hair has always been a significant marker of identity and part of his everyday life. His series Crépus, which began in 2019, is an on-going photographic celebration of natural Black hair in France. While working on a global project on racism, Alexandre was continuously confronted with the systemic issue of hair discrimination, “I kept hearing about Black people getting fired because of their hair, and this really became the starting point of this photo series–I needed to celebrate Black hair.” Shot exclusively outdoors and on black and white film, Alexandre’s photographs reject the calculated environment of studio space and lighting; instead, offering pared down, candid glimpses of Black hair. These compositional choices reinforce the core message of his series–the importance of seeing and celebrating the natural beauty and charisma of Black hair in our everyday lives.

-Alexa Fahlman

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Carmen Colombo - Mondo Piccolo

“Mondo Piccolo” is an ongoing personal project that tells about places and situations in the suburbs of Northern Italy, where I was born and I grew up. It’s a research about the meaning of “familiar” with two different connotations. From one side, it refers to my personal background and to the feeling of belonging to something. On the other hand, it concerns people’s usual everyday life habits. I am portraying the micro-realities of a suburban area that is for me calm and reassuring. I am interested in portraying a way of living in these small suburban villages, far away from big cities. Here, typical corners are hidden, still not standardized. My images are quiet moments, in which I slow down and I try to make mine the subject I portray, either a person or an object. Often it’s the light only that creates the right conditions for the perfect image, a non-place where nothing happens.

Axel Serrat - Stills

I’m from Barcelona, Spain. I’m mixed, my dad was Catalan and my mum’s from Benin, a little country in Africa. My work is a clear expression of my self and how I see life according to the values my ancestors gave me. I think my photography relates to our strong, natural component and our capacity to try to get away from nature–that eternal fight we all have inside. I explore how getting closer to nature makes us better humans, and makes us understand humanity from another point of view.

Men-tal Health (2020)

Men-tal Health by Louis Bever is an ongoing series that encourages men to be open about their emotions and to be honest about how they feel with their friends and loved ones. Each portrait is shot in the home or a comfortable space where they feel they can be their most vulnerable. The stories which accompany Louis’ portraits are diverse in nature, yet the same message resonates within each excerpt–men must prioritize and speak out about their mental health. Having these conversations is the first step. We must also work towards destigmatizing mental illness in BIPOC communities, as well as confront the racial disparities within mental health systems around the world. As June 15-21 marks Men’s Mental Health Awareness Week, take this time to reach out to your friends, spread awareness, and most of all–take care of yourself.

Thank you to all the brave men who shared their stories below.

 

Noemi Comi - Alba lux

Alba lux is an artistic project that combines documentation and conceptual photography. The photographs become real symbolic images, reproducing idyllic atmospheres and ineffable realities. It’s a multidisciplinary journey between spirituality and science, which begins within the earthly reality and then takes off within the otherworldly one.

The central topic of the project concern Near-Death Experiences. NDE is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. In fact, people with very different religious, political and social beliefs, have documented their experiences which share many elements in common: the presence of a strong light, a sense of bliss and changes in personality.

I found the subjects within social networks like Facebook and through personal connections. At first they were quite wary but after clarifying my intentions I was able to meet them. 

Each experience is very different and connoted by different religious aspects. Some have experienced it positively, others were traumatized and suffered from depression. Each story is described by three different photographs: the first two want to represent the subject and his changes, the third is a conceptual interpretation of the experience they lived. The writings inserted are texts in Italian written directly by the subjects about their experiences.

Camillo Pasquarelli - Lockdown in Genoa

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On March 9th, the Italian government imposed a lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Since then, 60 million people have been living under one of the most severe quarantines in Europe.

When Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the beginning of the so-called “Phase 1” of the lockdown, I found myself stuck in a place I barely knew– the coastal city of Genoa. As time progressed, Genoa became the place I ended up exploring in its pandemic desolation.

The emptiness of the city amplified its celebrated and mysterious past. For centuries, Genoa played a central role in the history of the Mediterranean region. Its port, once a mandatory destination for traders hailing from the East and West, is now facing the consequences of global economic slowdown. This reverberates into the deep identity crisis the whole city has been facing for decades; a crisis and a pandemic. I wondered how I could effectively tell these two stories from the right angle, with an honest and visual representation.

I felt disoriented, caught in the middle of the constant flux of images offered by mass media. To visualize the effects of the virus on our lives is to see the packed hospitals, portraits of doctors and nurses painstakingly fighting the spread of Covid-19, lines and lines of coffins. While locked at home, connecting with the outer world needs mediation, and images play a crucial part in forming our idea of what is going on out there. At first, I was skeptical about portraying a collective experience from an objective and informative approach. But then, while wandering around the narrow alleys of the old town, I realized that in order to find a way to convey this daunting feeling of stillness and suspension, I had to let the emotions take the lead and guide me through my long, lonely walks, and their casual encounters.

An old man enjoys the spring sunshine right outside his home.

An old man enjoys the spring sunshine right outside his home.

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The port of Genoa, one of Italy’s most major seaports, is facing a critical moment due to the collapse of cargo and cruise ships.

The port of Genoa, one of Italy’s most major seaports, is facing a critical moment due to the collapse of cargo and cruise ships.

Luca Bonfiglio, 59. He works at the port and is part of the labourer association–a group helping to deliver food and medication to the elderly or to those unable to leave their homes.

Luca Bonfiglio, 59. He works at the port and is part of the labourer association–a group helping to deliver food and medication to the elderly or to those unable to leave their homes.

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Tiny alleys characterize most of Genoa’s city centre.

Tiny alleys characterize most of Genoa’s city centre.

The city of Genoa has one of Italy’s highest aging population.

The city of Genoa has one of Italy’s highest aging population.

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The famous beach of Boccadasse, an old mariner’s neighbourhood, normally overcrowded in the spring with locals and tourists.

The famous beach of Boccadasse, an old mariner’s neighbourhood, normally overcrowded in the spring with locals and tourists.

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An elderly woman receives her medication delivered to her doorstep by a volunteer.

An elderly woman receives her medication delivered to her doorstep by a volunteer.

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Silvia Calosso, 20; another dedicated volunteer for the labourers association.

Silvia Calosso, 20; another dedicated volunteer for the labourers association.

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“Mangini Cafe”. All the bars, cafes and restaurants are closed.                                The closed entrance of Carlo Felice, the city’s main theatre.

“Mangini Cafe”. All the bars, cafes and restaurants are closed. The closed entrance of Carlo Felice, the city’s main theatre.

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Nils Davey - Pay With Cigarettes

‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’

Ferris Bueller

Not bad words to live by from the sausage king of Chicago. It’s hard to keep this mantra in mind in today’s world but when I walk the streets of Anytown, USA invariably someone will try and bum a smoke from me. Camera at the ready I state ‘Of course you can have one, but i’ll need to take your photo’. I stop and look around. These photos are the result.

Norberto Fernández Soriano- Hythloday

Hythloday is a body of work that draws from a community’s fight against fracking, and seeks to present their experiences and beliefs through a visual interpretation of what is positioned between fact and fiction. In the United Kingdom, the trial site for hydraulic fracture (shale gas fracking)–and its potential for national rollout and future commercial exploitation–is located in the countryside between the cities of Preston and Blackpool. A mile down the road from this site, a group of activists known to the local community as ‘The Protectors’, set up camp where they live and fight against this fracking trial.

In what might be described as a “photographic novella”, Hythloday transforms this physical place into an imagined post-fracking scenario, in which the activities, causes, fears, effects and thoughts constitute a potential future landscape. The project draws its title from a character’s name in Thomas More’s Utopia, and is used as a means to explore and understand the place itself, as well as ‘The Protectors’ fight. Hythloday combines the characters and elements on the ground with the suspended mood of an on-going protest to create a journey through an unknown and strange place; ultimately, revealing the tension between the subjects portrayed and the land they inhabit. 

 Continue below for the interview between Norberto Fernández Soriano and Alexa Fahlman 


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What inspired you to document this particular community's fight against fracking?

Initially I was interested in how this activity would modify the landscape and thus, the ways of living. I was also curious about showing the effects on the strained relationship between human and nature, especially in the rural areas where fracking is being tested. Since the effects manifest in the long term and can't be observed on the surface, I decided to explore the community’s fight against fracking, documenting their beliefs, fears and experiences.  

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 Is this still an on-going fight? 

The fight is still on-going, as the fracking is still on-going. 

One of the most direct pieces of evidence that reveal the effects of this practice are the tremors which are felt in the surrounding areas. The monitoring system that should guarantee the so-called “safe” levels of fracking show that these have been surpassed on several occasions. Despite the different maneuvers to continue fracking, last December, all activity was finally halted on the site where the project Hythloday had been developed. Nevertheless the records confirm a real risk– trial sites for fracking keep on spreading across the country.  

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Is The Protectors' protest entirely for environmental reasons, or were the reasons also more varied, scattered, even?

The Protectors, as a group, is a cluster of environmental activists and people from local communities. The background of this group is very heterogenic, but fracking is what made them come together. Some of them are activists who have been involved in environmental issues their whole lives; some have long given up on today’s society; many were locals, directly affected by this activity; while others, disappointed with the reality they have had to face within their jobs, have decided to put their efforts into something more meaningful. Most of the local community would have never thought of themselves as protesters or environmental activists, they were leading a tranquil life in an environment free of threats to their lifestyle. When the fracking rumours started, people did a little bit of research and they soon realised that this was something they didn’t want happening near to their homes. 

I think it is the communal sense of fight and resistance which ties them all together.

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How do you think a liminal community be represented without falling into aesthetic cliches?

The creative process behind Hythloday focuses on the representation of this community through their beliefs rather than their real dimension. In the series, the scenario built up, lacking evidence of location or time. I took advantage of this, and used it as a medium to explore the community’s various state of mind, which is what I felt defined them as “subject matter”. To explore this new landscape, I focused on the seaman character from Thomas More’s Utopia, Raphael Hythloday. Utopia was a fictional story which portrayed the flaws of More’s governmental system through the depiction of an ideal organization located on a non-existent island. For my project, Raphael Hythloday became an inspiration to explore constructed landscapes, where fiction represents a possible future and thus, poses as a challenge to the so-called image of resistant communities.

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Why do you think creative approaches are so effective when confronting serious subject matters- whether they be cultural or political?

A creative process allows both artists and observers to tackle projects from a conceptual point of view. This adds new layers of information and constructs a space for a broader sense of reflection. For instance, Hythloday stems from the fight of this community but raises other threads of concern, like the generation and consumption of news, truth and deception, and the privileging of certain opinions versus relating to personal experiences. 

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Photography especially seems to evoke empathetic engagement, what do you think it is about visual references which encourage mutual understanding and empathy? It seems that people need to actually see what others are going through to feel compassion.

In my opinion, pictures that encourage empathy and mutual understanding are usually related to what we perceive as familiar or weak. By this I mean that It comes from our inner experiences, but also from the enforced narratives within history. As a photographer, being aware of this will transform your photography. By reverting images that might traditionally confirm certain subjects as victims, and picturing them in a way which is closer to what they want to achieve–rather than what our blind, assuming eye might perceive– is the first step towards visualizing different realities. 

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How have you conceptualized a better world? I  know there's no definitive answer for this one, but what do you think a better world might look like? How would you want society to move forward?

This project does not attempt to define in any way what a better world is. The community’s perception on fracking reveals the flaws of the system and many of the characteristics of a dystopian society. Their fight represents the resistance to the advance of environmental destruction and ways of life linked to this. My personal take on the idea of a better world shifts along as I face different situations and realities. To me, a better world should be based strongly on respect and mutual understanding. I believe that we have given up part of our freedom by neglecting certain responsibilities. A better future would mean a greater control through our actions, finding ways of depending less on systematic dynamics of power. 

Matthew Ludak - Northern Gothic

These photos are from a series exploring the de-industrialization of American manufacturing towns and cities. The project started with my interest in photographing the intersection of nature and infrastructure.

As the project changed and grew, I became more focused on documenting small and large cities that, at one point or another, had been major industrial and manufacturing centers in America. Many of the buildings photographed are abandoned, condemned, or in the process of being demolished.

Some of these larger industrial cities have over the years seen government aid and intervention in the hope of revitalizing the local economy. However, many of the smaller cities and towns have been left on their own. 

I see this project as an opportunity to document the unfortunate effects of America moving away from being a nation of producers to that of consumers.

Sarah Stefanutti - Agoraphobia

ag·o·ra·pho·bi·a

/ˌaɡərəˈfōbēə/

noun

  1. an anxiety disorder which involves an intense fear of being in open, often public, places or situations where it may be hard to escape, or where help may not be available.


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Agoraphobia is a long-term art project on the relationship between subjects and spaces. In particular, I have been following the life of my grandmother, aged 95, and her confinement within her flat, as she hasn’t left this space for over a decade due to past traumatic experiences. I tried to capture the daily rituals of a domestic life that is mostly marked by stillness and silence. The more I dug into the representation of my grandmother’s agoraphobia, the more a strange sense of claustrophobia emerged within me in the solitude of her apartment. And yet, although my grandmother’s condition makes her life challenging, lacking human contact, I couldn’t help but notice how her inner world has become filled with fascinating details marked by subtle daily domestic rituals and great care for her space. The domestic space becomes both a home-temple as well as home-prison from which she cannot escape. Although this project started a few years ago, I can’t help but think of how current it has become in the last few weeks, where most of us find ourselves in some form of physical confinement due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. The unique life of my grandmother suddenly becomes strangely familiar to each one of us; and my work, that intended to capture the strange condition of the isolation of a single human, is now strangely contemporary and representative of the human condition.

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Tropographics - Filippo Bardazzi and Laura Chiaroni (SooS Chronicles)

A trópos is a recurring element. A trópos is a motif in narrative. (Yes, also in visual narrative). A trópos is a cliché. Everything can become a trópos, but each of them is not present as itself. It is there to direct to something else. A trópos keeps changing: that's what makes it always the same.

Tropographics is a project by Filippo Bardazzi and Laura Chiaroni—SooS Chronicles. It is definitely not a series of beautiful pictures found by chance on the web. And it isn't either a collection of random weird scenes. This is instead our trip through landscape and photography, in search of tropes around the world. The archive will be constantly updated and expanded with new categories.

All images have been taken using Google Street View.


BUS STOP

Bus stops are small reproductions of our lives. You stand or sit there waiting for a ride that can bring you to your final destination. During this wait you share a limited space with unknown people. Sometimes you talk to others, sometimes you just ignore them because you are busy thinking or because you just want to scroll through your phone with no particular reason. We have two friends that we've always known as a couple. They first met at a bus stop 15 years ago. They are now married with children. Life is often unpredictable.

COCA-COLA

Coca-Cola is likely the only thing you can order in any place of the world you happen to be. In the middle of the desert or in the jungle, on the snowy mountains or on a hammock in front of the Caribbean Sea, a can of Coke is always available, with the same taste, the same packaging, the same bubbles. First sold in pharmacies, now you can find it anywhere except (maybe) pharmacies. Its distribution is so widespread thanks to an extensive advertising coverage, showing the world famous red and white logo. Even Santa Claus loved this soft drink so much that he started wearing these colours as an uniform for his job.

DOG

It is said that a dog is a man's best friend. Yeah, maybe. We don't have enough evidence for that. Surely they are everywhere and they populate cities and outskirts together with us for centuries. Most of human activities can be done with a dog on our side. Dogs sometimes act in ways that look mysterious to us: we don't know what they say when they bark or growl in the streets and it's funny how they get in touch by sniffing each other's butts. They are faithful but there is no way you can eradicate their freedom to sleep on a dusty roadside and their will to run behind a passing car.