Alexandre Silberman - Differences and Repetitions

- Aesthetics of disappearance and overlaying in Seine-Saint-Denis-

Established in 1968 for the purpose of fragmenting the Île-de-France’s “red belt,” the Seine-Saint-Denis department was formed in a way that simultaneously attached it to and isolated it from Paris. Ideologically split from the concomitant capital, it was also demographically, economically, and culturally disconnected, all while still being “the periphery of. In opposition to Paris’ immutable heritage, the area asserted its own identity through its heterogeneity, the plurality of its voices, and the radicalness of its mutations. As the 2024 Olympic Games loom, of which it is one of the biggest beneficiaries, the Seine-Saint-Denis finds itself caught up in monumental building sites, whose scope contrasts the reality on the ground. Former vast agricultural plains that have become the most extensive industrial area in Europe, are now suffering from early urbanization; the most cosmopolitan department, but also the poorest in mainland France, happens to also be one of the youngest. Facing a prominent past and a difficult current situation, Seine-Saint-Denis is entering the 2020s with lofty ambitions for the future. At a time in which an army of cranes are working the grounds to build a shiny future–just as much as they are trying to bury an annoying present–it is an entire territory which makes its strata appear in our eyes. Agricultural and industrial, natural and urban, poor and opulent–all these asynchronous layers make up a complex landscape, both spatial and temporal, crossed by a constant balance of power. A balance of opposing the morbid repetition of the identical; the established order and its re-establishment, and the vigorous reputation of difference–that of life that disappears and springs again. Here, the latter has never seemed so beautiful. But, it has also, unfortunately, never seemed so fragile.

1/ Production unit for concrete with Hmong patterns on its silos // Aubervilliers // August 2019

The largest industrial area in Europe in the 1950s, and a symbol of a glorious past, that today is now devastated, the Plaine Saint-Denis extends over Saint-Ouen, Saint-Denis and Aubervilliers. It is in this latter city that this concrete production unit is located, strategically close to the Saint-Denis canal. Now famous for its many wholesaler shops (over 1,500), Aubervilliers is also one of the largest concentrations of the Chinese diaspora in France. Just a few steps from these shops (a sign in the background can be seen), the company CEMEX had chosen in 2016 to repaint its silos with Hmong patterns. Coincidence or not, two site employees are from this region.

2/ Babouche in a tram shelter // Porte de la Villette // August 2019

Formerly the “Granary of Paris”, the northern Ile-de-France territories, now corresponding to those of Seine-Saint-Denis, were very active agricultural areas. The Plain of Virtues, which spanned Aubervilliers and La Courneuve, was even the largest vegetable plain in France. With the gradual industrialization of the territory that began in the 1950s, concrete replaced mud, and market gardening activity fell sharply.

3/ Raymond young trumpeter of the kimbanguist fanfare // Georges-Valbon Park - La Courneuve // August 2019

4/ Romuald, young tuba player of the kimbanguist fanfare // Georges-Valbon Park - La Courneuve // August 2019

It is on a section of the old Plain of Virtues that the Georges-Valbon Park was created in La Courneuve. The third largest green space in the Ile-de-France region after the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, it is a plant island in an often very harsh urban landscape. This is where Raymond, Romuald and his colleagues from the Saint-Ouen Kimbanguist brass band rehearse every Saturday, making the brass ring out in the middle of the trees. Practiced almost exclusively in its country of origin, and among its diaspora, Kimbanguism is a religion of Congolese origin based on the Bible, but which includes Africa in the plan of Salvation of God for humanity. Although eminently peaceful, the organization is very steeped in military aesthetics, in which fanfare plays a very important role.

5/ Woman on a scooter // Georges-Valbon Park- La Courneuve // August 2019

6/ Zar Mohammad, young Afghan refugee // Georges-Valbon Park- La Courneuve // August 2019

His name was Zar Mohammad Miakhil, a young Afghan refugee who had agreed to have his photo taken. With the strange beauty of his presence on the rock, I decided to use my last few millimetres of film to take his portrait rather than my planned panorama. It was by coincidence that nearly a year later, I had come across a news piece in May 2020–that of an Afghan refugee killed by three police offices at Georges-Valbon park in La Courneuve. Before I even read more, I knew it was him.

The story is obviously sordid - under these conditions, how can it be otherwise? On April 15, in the same park emptied by containment measures, the young man was shot by the police in circumstances that are still murky. He allegedly threatened the police with a knife–three bullets, including one in the head. The fact is freezing, but made no noise. As Covid-19 took all the media space, few went to the case of Zar Mohammad Miakhil–a 25 year old man, described as calm and smiling by his relatives, but who for some time, also fell prey to a deep depression.

While we have talked a lot about the victims of Covid during the health crisis, it is also important to talk about the victims quarantine has killed. It has left people in complete psychological and social distress. If I had photographed Zar Mohammad Miakhil on this rock when it was at the centre of a desired territory, far from the rough urbanity which surrounds him, would he still be here today? It is now quite terrifying to see him peacefully seated, knowing he will only be killed here a few months later.

7/View from the belvedere // Georges-Valbon Park- La Courneuve // May 2020

8/ Naseer // Saint-Denis // June 2020

9/ Jacket in barbed wire // Porte de la Chapelle // June 2020

10/ Former crack hill, in the process of revegetation // Road interchange of Porte de la Chapelle // June 2020

11/ Refugee camp alongside the Saint-Denis canal // Aubervilliers // May 2020

12/ Kada // Aubervilliers // June 2020

13/ Picturesque facade // Aubervilliers // August 2019

Along the Saint-Denis canal stands this painted fresco on the metal wall of a building. A dreamlike landscape of a tree and natural banks, just a stone's throw from the concrete banks of Aubervilliers, it opens onto a curtain with what appears to be an oriental motif. The building is recognized as a landmark of October 17, 1961, the date of the Paris massacre, where more than a hundred Algerians came to demonstrate for their independence. Inaugurated in 2015, this place is part of the recognition by the French State of the crimes perpetrated during the Algerian war, and more generally, the brutality of its colonial past.

14/ Fishing scene// Aubervilliers // October 2019

15/ Construction site along the Saint-Denis canal // Saint-Denis // November 2019

It was by and thanks to the Paris canals, inaugurated in 1821 and of which the Saint-Denis canal is a part, that the industrialization of a hitherto predominantly rural territory was able to take place. But with gradual deindustrialization, the banks have gradually fallen fallow. Yet, in the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, they have once again become a major issue. Already equipped with the Stade de France, the city of Saint-Denis will see the official aquatic center of the competition being built on its land, as well as the athletes' village. This leads to a change in the organization of the territory, especially in its access and circulation routes. The banks, as a privileged connection point between Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis, is thus the subject of a priority development program aimed at transforming the canal into a linear park. To provide for the good performance of all the projects it has to operate, Seine-Saint-Denis has received two billion in investment. A considerable sum for a department which is currently the poorest in mainland France.

16/ Bonifon going home // Saint-Denis // November 2019

In order to go from Versailles to Saint-Denis without entering Paris, Louis XV took a path first called “Princes’ route", then "Route of the revolt". This change in name would have various origins, but always with a common point in a popular uprising against the monarch. Since then, the king has died, but the route is still identifiable, especially in Saint-Denis where the only reminder of this past appellation remains, across the bridge of the revolt. The path of nobility has become a wide road, saturated with cars, the end point of which is a puffy multimodal pole. In this gray din, along Boulevard Anatole France, lives Bonifon. In the middle of a forest of pillars whose height gives the whole appearance of a road cathedral, the concrete slides have become a boundary of property. And despite the unhealthiness of the whole, there emerges here a strange impression of organization, and even of beauty. While the laundry is drying, Bonifon comes in one last time to check if the fire is out, before leaving. "If I'm in the photo, it changes the meaning, it becomes ridiculous." His home is threatened by the development of the new Pleyel interchange, necessary for traffic to the Olympic village. These works, which are very controversial because of its very harmful ecological consequences (forecast of + 30% of traffic in the neighbourhood), have barely started, leaving Bonifon a little respite.

17/ Pleyel tower // Saint-Denis // November 2019

18/ Flyer « Say Jewel to the lady » // Saint-Denis // February 2020

19/ Moussa taking a pause after a shopping session // Porte de Clignancourt // November 2019

20/ Four tower Blocks // Aubervilliers // December 2019

21/ Entrance hall of the Saint-Paul of the Plaine Saint-Denis church // Saint-Denis // March 2020

22/ Mamadou on the way to go to a New Year Party // Aubervilliers // December 2019

23/ Roberto, youthful Roma, in front of the family van // Aubervilliers // December 2019

"Nomads are those who do not move. They become nomads because they refuse to leave." Arnold Toynbee, quoted by Gilles Deleuze in POURPARLERS. As I was portraying someone else in front of one of the many vacant lots in the city, Roberto came to see me and asked me to do his. The child was confident. Refusing my initial proposal to do it in front of this same vacant lot, he insisted on doing it in front of his van. He was right. When I returned a few months later, the van was no longer there. The vacant lot was under construction, I then thought back to Toynbee's words. It was in front of his real “territory” that Roberto had chosen to be photographed, one whose stability can only be acquired in motion.

24/ The front tree // Aubervilliers // December 2019

After confinement, I returned to Seine-Saint-Denis to the places I had previously photographed. I was marked by the number of disappearances that there had been. Not all were equally important, not all were as brutal, but they all had in common to point out the fragility of the living, here specifically. Here, time seems to flow faster than in the concomitant capital, frantically burying men, animals and plants. Often the weakest. Often the most beautiful. Like this tree, of which there was only a cut trunk in May. The cranes have never seemed to grow so fast. In his major construction project for the 2024 Olympic Games, many residents of Seine-Saint-Denis blamed the department for an ecological denial on its part, endangering the living by the acceleration of the urbanization of its land.

25/ Golden building // Bagnolet // December 2019

26/ Equestrian statue // Epinay-sur-Seine // November 2019

27/ Sheep out // Georges-Valbon Park- La Courneuve // May 2020

28/ Livestock classification table // Georges-Valbon Park- La Courneuve // May 2020

29/ Greenhouse // Gally farm - Saint-Denis // February 2020

30/ Three sheep in their enclosure // Gally farm - Saint-Denis // February 2020

31/ Ring-road exit // Porte de Clignancourt // March 2020

32/ Two boys in qamis taking a selfie on top of a concrete pyramid // Georges-Valbon Park- La Courneuve // August 2019

One of the many concrete eruptions in La Courneuve Park is used as play, rest, and an observation space for the various visitors of the site. It also echoes the words of Allain Provost, landscaper in charge of the project, who compared the mass of work required the construction of the park "equivalent to four pyramids of Cheops". But, it is above all, an imprint of a fundamentally heterogeneous territory, in which the different strata - nature / urbanity / plant / humanity/ past / present - coexist to compose a sometimes strangely beautiful landscape.

Mara Sánchez-Renero - Iluikak

In the wayward Mexico of today, where sociopolitical instability has prompted society to lose contact with its roots, heritage, and territory, Veracruz is one of many places where Mexican citizens face injustice on a daily basis. In hopes of bringing viewers’ eyes and attention to its reality. I have chosen to situate myself and my project in this part of Mexico. To open a mountain implies entering its multiple dimensions: the mountain as a way of life, as a secret, as a fantasy, as a history, as a nature, as time. The mountain range of Zongolica in the state of Veracruz, is tracked by the slow construction of these photographs, shaped by high, mid and low lands as a constant transition of heights and humidity. Its original inhabitants, the Nahuas people since ancient times are country workers and more and more they become migrant communities due to the precarious socio-economic conditions and violence in the region, being Veracruz one of the most violent states in the country. Iluikak, which in Nahuatl means "close to the sky" is a project that assumes fully the tight relationship between what a photographic image creates and the real it comes from. It leads through the furrow between documentary and fiction. In the images, which are tied in their temporalities from the idea of act, a space is managed not only for the visions and symbols of the mountain to emerge, but to create an imaginary at the same time abstract and concrete from the pendular relationship between the visible and the invisible.

Guannan Li - Glimpses of China

Thursday Spotlight: About ‘China Glimpses’ – words by Guannan Li:

China Glimpses is a collection of street-photographs taken in and around China from 2017 – 2019. Most of the places are quite personal ones that I’ve revisited many times, others I came across in passing. The paper horse, for example, is from a shop specializing in tomb supplies and it's very close to where my grandparents are buried. The man with the glasses and plastic bags – I call him “Mr. Cats” because he brings fresh drinking water and food for stray cats to a nearby campus twice a week. He tells me he has been doing this for over a decade. Then there are images that just "feel" very Chinese to me – like that half-hidden Mahjong garage – venues like that are now forbidden, but continue to exist, often hiding in plain sight – on that particular day, it was simply too hot to keep the gate closed. To me, these images represent a China that is dreamy, deeply human and fleetingly surreal at times.

Daria Nazarova - The Time of Water

Photographer Daria Nazarova’s familial history is deeply connected to Mologa, a once inhabited land, now submerged beneath the Rybinsk reservoir. Between 1937 and 1941, more than 130,000 people were forcibly displaced to make way for a hydroelectric dam.

Older houses were burned, stone houses were destroyed, while the rest were dismantled and transported to new locations. Those who were able, moved to nearby places often close to the seashore. However, many residents couldn't afford to move their homes and either sold them at cheap prices or became homeless. Unable to survive the shocks of illness, poverty and harsh environments, many previous residents died as a result. In total, an estimated 700 villages were flooded; while more than 50 churches, 3 monasteries, noble estates with surrounding territories, gardens, parks, and the estate of Musin-Pushkin were destroyed and drowned at the order of a hand.

Daria found herself drawn to these places in search of stories to locate her past. Indifference, she notes, “is impossible now, as it is impossible to change the past.” Articles were not enough; Daria searched restlessly for live witnesses, those who kept the stories of their relatives, “I needed photos, documents, letters, evidence.” However, for some time there had been a ban on speaking of Mologa leaving former residents too afraid to share information. Despite the more recent opportunities to recount Mologa’s history, many people have remained in silent acceptance. With a camera in hand, Daria chases the inevitability that soon, there will be no one left to remember Mologa. 

- Alexa Fahlman

Alexey Pavlov - Boyhood

Today in Russia there are several hundred schools with separate education for boys and girls. This approach has always generated a lot of controversy. Proponents argue that gender separation enhances academic achievement, has a positive effect on the physical and psychological development of students, and helps establish “traditional values.”

Opponents of separate education argue that a constant presence only among peers of the same sex can adversely affect the development of the individual, as it forms an environment that is far from the realities of life in society. According to them, in the modern world it is much more productive to personalize training, based on the characteristics and needs of each individual student, without any reference to common features.

The village of Borogontsy is located one hundred thirty kilometers northeast of Yakutsk. The nineties, as in all of Russia, passed here severely. The country was experiencing economic and social upheaval, a new world appeared in front of people, overwhelmed with uncertainty about tomorrow. Young people did not understand very well how to manage absolute freedom, which suddenly came to replace comprehensive control and guardianship by the state.

The decision that only boys will study at the high school, which opened here in 1994, was also made in order to combat this phenomenon. A bias in technical disciplines, a lot of additional classes and a special attention to sports - gymnasium students were to become an example for everyone else.

The costume of the Yakut warrior - bootur, used in school plays. Students try to instill patriotic feelings, the desire to become worthy heads of families and fair leaders. These values ​​correlate with the image of a real man, laid in the school.

Students play ball in the gym during the break. The unofficial name of the school - "Uolan" - literally translated from Yakut means "young man, youth"

One of the authors of the idea of ​​creating a high school, where only boys will study, is Filippov Valentin Ivanovich. According to him, a man must have a lively mind, be skillful and courageous, always look tidy

According to tradition, military training camps are held every fall. Boys go to the training ground, live in tents for three days and must pass standards for general physical training and marching

Yakutia is the largest and coldest region of Russia with its own unique culture. The Yakut ritual pillars - serge - are connected with the cult of the horse - the hosts and guests tied horses to it, and it is also a symbol of the tree of life, uniting the three worlds - Upper, Middle and Lower

Pupils during a ceremony dedicated to Teacher's Day. All high school students are required to go to school in dark suits, they always have with them a handkerchief and a comb.

Despite the fact that in 2009, at the request of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the provisions on sovereignty were for the most part excluded from the Constitution of the Republic, on September 27, Day of Statehood is widely celebrated in Yakutia. On this day, students of most Yakut schools come to study in national costumes

Also, one of the traditional events is a bike ride, to which students of the ninth grades go annually. This year, students went to the village of Kepteni, located thirty-three kilometers from Borogontsy

Freestyle wrestling is the number one sport in Yakutia. A huge number of boys in Yakut cities and villages attend such sections.

Portraits of famous Russian military leaders hang on the wall. Portraits of the President of the Russian Federation, the head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the head of the Ust-Aldan region are located a little lower

Children who come to study from far away villages or cities can settle in a boarding house working at the gymnasium. A few years ago, among the graduates was a young man who specially flew from Moscow to Borogontsy to study at "Uolan"

Graduates decorated a wall in a boarding house

The famous ice fishing on crucian carp in Yakutia is called Munkha. They gather for this fishing throughout the village and it takes place in the fall, when the ice is already strong enough.

Pupils of grade 11 go fishing with male teachers. Experienced elders are also invited. They know where and how best to carry out a net and lead the whole action.

Preparation for school play about local flora and fauna.

Aleksei Alekseevich Vinokurov worked as a biology teacher for nineteen years from the day the high school was opened, subsequently switching to work at the local young naturalists station. In 2013, he published a photo album with landscapes of his native places, pictures of representatives of flora and fauna. Behind Alexei Alekseevich, we see a large photoprint of Lake Muru - once large-water, but now rapidly drying up

Pennant made for opening of the school in 1994. "Uolan" celebrates its 25th anniversary this year

Daniel Bracken - It’s Safe Behind the Glass

It’s Safe Behind the Glass is a working title, taken from an enclosure sign at the London Zoo. Forming an illustration of time loss, the photographs conceptualise a gap between the perceived and physical – brushing against fleeting moments within the domestic and the natural worlds. The images string together a narrative that alters our perceptions on looking. Much like spectres of memory, they slip into and out of sequence, showing an affected familiar moment; a nod towards the Uncanny. The photographs become timeless and frozen. Drawn from personal dreams and memories: archives, manuscripts, and novels become the main inspirations for delineating images. Referencing Virginia Woolf’s narrative techniques, the photographs drift past autobiography - out of their timelines, out of their environments; and become familiar moments that have been forever changed. It is these gaps where the body finds its weightlessness. Abysses of anonymity, of time loss. A shift out of space – out of time. The images further contrast meticulous human intervention through evidence of craft and labour. The natural world becomes changed, almost forced to stop. Time that has been lost, trapped in the instant, but mostly forgotten in these spaces. Abandoned. The defiled grave, the decrepit rituals. Research into Victor Turner’s Liminal and Liminoid become important: these ritualistic moments between “being” and “becoming”. Perhaps this is where the photographs sit: as the Double within nature, a mirror to time. The viewer is forced to look between the perceived and the photographic.

Elliot Cole - A Hull to Hold The Waves At Bay

A Hull To Hold The Waves At Bay considers the subject of mental health and how we manage it. It is a journey of self-exploration that contemplates our interaction with our surroundings and how we reduce the impact of our symptoms. Inevitably my own experiences are intertwined amongst the stories of the subjects. The time spent making the photographs allows for conversation and informs a more collaborative approach. The series presents a culmination of the momentary calm, the warmth and the fleeting clarity afforded by these coping strategies juxtaposed with the difficulties and frustrations encountered along the way.

SAGE NATION - BRIDGING CULTURES THROUGH DESIGN

Inspired by designer Sage Toda-Nation’s dual heritage, Sage Nation is an eponymous label which materializes two cultures by way of streamlined silhouettes, innovative design, and meaningful construction. For his debut collection, the up and coming designer translates Japanese and British culture through a detailed study of traditional combat uniforms; a tangible commonality which offers a harmonious and functional vision of his cultural duality. Paying close attention to the traditional materials and methods of design, each garment is designed in unison to create a modular wardrobe which addresses the nuances of daily life. 

Striking a conceptual balance between style and practicality, his multifunctional pieces are carefully constructed to accommodate the uncertainties of contemporary life. These aims are manifested through both the Hybrid Detachable Jacket and oversized Poncho. The Hybrid Jacket incorporates a removable upper to serve as both a jacket and a utility vest, while the Poncho can be reimagined as an adjustable weatherproof skirt. Alongside these garments, Toda’s collection seamlessly expands on a series of legacy shapes and staples to deliver a collection of non-seasonal, adaptable, and genderless clothing for the current day. The collection will be available soon online and at select stockists. Continue below to view the complete lookbook shot by photographer Matt Marsh, and an exclusive interview between Sage and Alexa.

Besides its most technical purpose, what was photography's role in presenting your collection?

I feel that photography is very important to the DNA of the brand. It’s how we communicate the final product to the audience. Without this communication, the true beauty and intention of the garments may not come across as intended. It’s also an important tool for expressing the mood or feeling that we are trying to convey through the brand. 

From a young age, I was aware of the importance of communication through photography because my mother was a photographer. My right hand man, Louis Flashman, also works in photography, so it is always at the forefront of our minds when working on the collection.

What immediately drew me to your lookbook was the composition and movements of the models. The juxtaposition of using traditional materials/methods of design and the sense of a "non-traditional" lookbook is visually striking. And, I think the movement of each shot really compliments your dynamic pieces. Could you speak more on your intention here?

I’m glad you picked up on this through the visuals. Something I am very conscious of when designing and moving forward with the brand, is that we focus on making ‘real’ clothes for ‘real’ people. A lot of the designs are made to transform and change to adapt to dynamic movement. I want my clothes to be comfortable and to enhance everyday life, not restrict it. 

We also strive to strike a balance between the outdoors and the city. This hybrid lifestyle we are trying to promote is embodied by the range of dynamic movements we use during shoots, and has more recently manifested in a collaboration with the hiking brand Keens, who promote the same lifestyle. I am aware that we already have more than enough clothing in this world, so our clothes need to be able to be worn practically and encourage movement.

I also find beauty in the subtle juxtaposition of things. In life, I think the most beautiful things have an element of contrast to them. This is why I like using playful stances during shoots, which combined with movement, accentuate the very simple, refined clothes. 

Your collection also noticeably disregards visual gender representations and really captures the naturality of timeless, functional, and genderless clothing. What initially inspired you to approach your lookbook/garments from this perspective?

When it came to this idea of the collection being, as we like to say, ‘genderless’, it is not meant as a political decision by any means. As a designer, I believe we should work towards making clothes as inclusive as possible. My favourite part of a garment is always the shoulder, which I feel is often what defines the garment as ‘menswear’ or ‘womenswear’. So I focus on finding the balance in the shoulder, which often leads to many of the pieces having a very relaxed, dropped shoulder that is more versatile. As well as this, a lot of the clothes can be adjusted to fit all sizes: such as the drawstring skirt and the poncho. I get enjoyment from clothes that are not restricted by silhouette, but instead enhanced by it. 

What influenced the photographic vision of your lookbook? Things, places, people, culture? The last shot in your lookbook really brings to mind one of my favourite books "The Beauty of Everyday Things". 

My friends and colleagues influence my work highly. My friend Jesse Crankson and I will spend hours talking about films that have influenced us over the years and even everything down to tv adverts. I also have a great relationship with Matt Marsh: the photographer that shot the lookbook. I use him for all my ecomm shoots. I think it is important to have a good relationship with whoever you are shooting with because it shows through the images. Maintaining continuity going forward is something that is also very important to us. I think to really develop a strong DNA as a brand, you have to keep working with the same people time and time again to build a good foundation for genuine growth.

For some of the shots and compositions, I often draw a lot of inspiration from my all time favourite film director Takeshi Kitano. I love the use of empty space in his movies and the general atmosphere he manages to create through visuals. There’s so much beauty to be found in imagery that utilizes space to a create calm visuals. We also like to experiment a lot with expired film and medium format film, some of which we will be releasing after the lookbook fully released. I find working with multiple mediums is essential for adding another layer to the brand and to create a real mood behind what we are trying to do. 

We carefully chose all the props in the shoot. For example the Eames chair we used, is a chair of great sentimental value to Louis. Everything we do has to have a reason or a purpose. I think it is important to have that depth to even a very simple image.

Gabriel Orłowski - The Big Empty

Another delay on another, different line. I can get nowhere without being lagged. The spectacle is on stand-by, over here no time does pass. It’s a temporary place of deficient, sedative dynamics – just a beat per minute. Slow events for makeshift audiences – shuffling backgrounds, gentle sounds. Most of it is AC anyway and it’s good the damn thing is on. There is good deal of dust floating and it’s hard to guess how long we’ve been here for. The air has been stale for ages. I have seen this before, though, not much of a surprise. It looks the same everywhere – each an instance of one, basic model: hotel room, an airport, duty free, reception hall, a waiting room. A managed, momentary environment, a homogenous non-space. I am cargo, this is limbo. An antechamber of agamic space - for drifting, with vending machines, to be stored up in for the time being.

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 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 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 only ask for you to always remember of

Cidália

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

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

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

Gabriel Provvedi - Astrographics

Water, rocks, methane and other compounds: the primordial cauldron on earth begins to mix and somehow life is born. For some bizarre and statistically improbable events we live on the planet that we call Earth; our land, our homeland, our home. A singular place. If we observed our existence from the outside, we would appear as aliens. Living beings that move everywhere, far and wide on their planet. From the point of view of a foreigner, coming from who knows what remote place in the Galaxy, we would look just like that. Life on Earth begins thanks to biological compounds that came from the cosmos by means of collisions between planets, asteroids and any other celestial object with physicality, bringing from the cosmic immensity small parts of alien life, giving rise to what we know today. In Astrographics I research and photograph some of my familiar places, depriving them, in some cases, of their three-dimensionality, turning the perception from a realistic place to a fiction place. The perception of the place and landscape activates some neuronal processes that starts a reflection on the nature of the place and on its reality, but at the same time the processes intrinsic to the personality are activated, finding coverage from personal experiences, imagination and dream. Artifact and real places come together, rewarding the perceptual bond that is created with a landscape, making the landscape itself a reason for interior reflection. A meditation on the nature of the landscape, on the origins of the Earth and how our life experience is bizarre and infinitely incredible.

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

Noé Vercaemst - Pause

Time is suspended, the world no longer turns, but our absence leaves traces. These forgotten landscapes, sometimes destroyed, are erased from our memories, emptied of colour and life. The grass grows, the asphalt fades and cracks in the wind's breath and the sun's rays.

Aman Deshmukh - Ma / a portrait from memory

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.

Pawel Jaskiewicz - Zenith

Zenith is an imaginary point, located directly above a particular location. Perspective from there turns landscape into a pattern, creating an ideal, objective order - also imaginary. However, this is a theory. Real perception comes out of empirical experience, filtered through subjective view. 

Zenith is a body of work, collecting topographic views of various non-places. Stating the idea behind this term, Marc Auge coined it to describe places without enough significance to be thought of as proper places, but this also comes down to subjective perception. As man alters landscape, it becomes an imprint of the perception of both the creator and the user, thus being an evidence of their actions and intentions that will eventually last. Even when in perfect order from up above, all places are subjected to a constant reformulation and repurposing. And this is the subject of this story

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.

Mental Health Resources:

Black Minds Matter UK Black, African and Asian Therapy Network UK Black Thrive UK Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation Good Lad Initiative Headspace Inclusive Therapists Invisible Cities Liberate Meditation App MoodMission Moodfit Muslim Wellness National Queer and Trans Therapists of Colour Network Pride Counselling Sanvello Talkspace The Safe Place

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

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.

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.

Tiny alleys characterize most of Genoa’s city centre.

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

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

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

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

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