twenty seven springs
to get to know my father2023 - ongoing
I have walked barefoot in my family's garden through many seasons, feeling and seeing the changes in the plants and on my skin. While climbing trees and hiding in the many bushes, I've watched the surroundings change and the memories accumulate.
In a game of hide-and-seek with the past, I always searched for the stories hidden in every corner of the garden, a place that carries the roots of my father's family, whom I have never met and about whom my father has never told me anything about.
Now, in my twenty seventh spring, I started an email correspondence with my father, eager to understand that part of the family and the events he never talked about. As we wrote to each other, we found in photography the common ground on which we meet and document the process of getting to know each other.
While we unfold memories and pose in front of the camera, we both reveal vulnerability, seeking empathy and understanding, allowing the medium to become a means of communication and connection, reclaiming a relationship covered by silence and unspoken feelings.
‘twenty-seven springs’ is a project of quiet images and portraits marked by the constant action of my father and I climbing my grandfather's last peach tree at the end of the family garden.
By embracing the vulnerability involved in creating this project,I discovered how many people are in the situation of not knowing their parents, their past and the events that shaped them. Through a personal narrative, I invite people to discover how photography can be a bridge for generational silence, and how through sharing, and especially storytelling, it is possible to change the course of a relationship.
My research paper ‘the tenderness of silence’ can be read at this link.
The research explores various visual artists and photographers who connect their work with family dynamics. Drawing on my personal narratives and correspondence with my father, it navigates themes such as generational silence, family, and Italian patriarchal culture.
The project was supported by M.C. de Visser Fonds.
In a game of hide-and-seek with the past, I always searched for the stories hidden in every corner of the garden, a place that carries the roots of my father's family, whom I have never met and about whom my father has never told me anything about.
Now, in my twenty seventh spring, I started an email correspondence with my father, eager to understand that part of the family and the events he never talked about. As we wrote to each other, we found in photography the common ground on which we meet and document the process of getting to know each other.
While we unfold memories and pose in front of the camera, we both reveal vulnerability, seeking empathy and understanding, allowing the medium to become a means of communication and connection, reclaiming a relationship covered by silence and unspoken feelings.
‘twenty-seven springs’ is a project of quiet images and portraits marked by the constant action of my father and I climbing my grandfather's last peach tree at the end of the family garden.
By embracing the vulnerability involved in creating this project,I discovered how many people are in the situation of not knowing their parents, their past and the events that shaped them. Through a personal narrative, I invite people to discover how photography can be a bridge for generational silence, and how through sharing, and especially storytelling, it is possible to change the course of a relationship.
My research paper ‘the tenderness of silence’ can be read at this link.
The research explores various visual artists and photographers who connect their work with family dynamics. Drawing on my personal narratives and correspondence with my father, it navigates themes such as generational silence, family, and Italian patriarchal culture.
The project was supported by M.C. de Visser Fonds.
