Summer love
-ONGOING-
On the morning of February 26th, on the Steccato coast, in Cutro, in the province of Crotone (Calabria, Italy), happens the shipwreck of a boat carrying about 180 migrants on board, from various countries including Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and Palestine, takes place. About 100 bodies were found. Over 30 were children. The survivors are about 50.
Human traffickers, especially Turkish and Syrian, gather all migrants in Istanbul. Arrived in Çeşme, on the Aegean Sea, they are put on a boat which collapses immediately. At that point, they are embarked on the Summer love, a caique, that is a Turkish fishing vessel, 25 meters long, flying the Greek flag.
-ONGOING-
My camera is heavier than usual.
I brought the flashes with me but I preferred to set up a simple scene, using a single light source: the natural light that entered from one of the doors of the Civil Protection shed.
I started taking pictures after cleaning a white panel, found on the spot. As I shot, the bottom filled up with sand and other debris.
I tried to put the clothes down in a simple way, almost without touching them. In some cases I rearranged some items, trying to restore a minimum of dignity, even if I fear it is a useless and presumptuous gesture.
The brands appear on the sweatshirts, including “Manière De Voir” which is represented with crossed out lettering, as if what I have in front of my eyes, everything that has happened and perhaps even my documentation, are a wrong way of seeing, a wrong point of view.
I tried not to make a show of things, not to choose sophisticated shots, but to limit myself to a zenithal shot. I thought it necessary to use this point of view, as if it were more objective, with the aim of creating a sample collection, a catalog of these clothes and personal effects.
I chose not to photograph underwear, because I don’t want my images to be sensational. I would like they were insignificant photos. I would like I hadn’t taken them. I would like there hadn’t been an opportunity to take them.
-ONGOING-
