Personal Project by Carola Blondelli
with the collaboration of Nicolas Vaporidis
curated by Caterina Antonaci
We are acquainted with the idea that it is necessary to control and handle our emotions, in particular the ones considered “socially not convenient”. Nevertheless, emotions are what characterises and distinguishes ourselves in depth, ephemeral and transitory states that universally belong to each one of us and that demonstrate the “true colours” of human beings: to be able to recognize and accept them it is indeed a fundamental aspect in order to define our own identity.
This exhibition provides a close analysis on the perception, description and verbalisation of our emotions. Inside the exposition each image corresponds to an emotion; however, the process of recognizing the feeling is very subjective: not everyone will grasp the same reality in each photograph, rather the interpretation will be open and unpredictable. To this end, the label which suggests the emotion will be temporarily covered, providing the opportunity to the viewer to uncover it only after his/her individual reflection, thus avoiding to be externally influenced.
The main subject of the series is the female one, a recurrent choice in the artist’s creative practice, who is committed to capture the sensuality and emotivity that belong to women, through intimate shots that are distinguished by a very direct and audacious language. Furthermore, the female figure coincides with the artist’s choice for it can express the emotions in a particularly direct and explicit manner, although with a tangible sensitivity and delicacy. A relevant feature, which is representative of the artist’s creative practice, is her ability to feel empathy with the subjects photographed, establishing a real relationship that contributes to make the shots more intimate, personal and expressive. To this end, it is meaningful the use of close-ups, an artistic choice aimed to highlight the more representative and personal traits of our expressions.
The emotions considered are the result of the artist’s selection, some that she considers more widespread in contemporary society: happiness, anger, boredom, fear, jealousy, adoration towards ourselves… a number of situations that belongs to each of us in very different degrees, and that demonstrates a strong relation with the social context. The photographs deal with circumstances that concern us in the everyday life. Throughout an introspective reading, the shots invite us to reflect on what does it mean to look at an image featuring fear, happiness or shame, they invite us to think on what should be the “appropriate reaction” and what could be our possibilities of comprehension and even empathy. Lastly, the exhibition calls us to reflect on the very personal way to interpret and understand ourselves in an individual as well as collective context.
