Italy
It was a beautiful, cold morning in Venice, full of promise. Another thing that stuck to mind was an overpriced coffee in Rialto, but sometimes, crisp, promising mornings in Venice make you want to use the bathroom desperately...
Read MoreThis was his code name and I was supposed to photographically investigate him while passing by the infamous Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Ironically, the real Casanova had actually crossed that bridge. But then, Casanova was one of the very few that had managed to escape from the prisons of Venice... That should have made me a bit more careful and alert, but it didn't. So I ended up mesmerised by what was supposed to be the last sight the future prisoners had of the sky and the outside world -and what a world that was!- and my inner ear fell wide open to their sighs and their thoughts. "Ponte dei Sospiri" was the name given to it by Lord Byron, who, like me, was using Venice to escape from uncomfortable realities... There are no coincidences, I knew that, that's why, deep inside, I knew that my Casanova -like the real one- had already escaped, not because he fantasised or dreamed about it, but because it was the only thing to to.
Read MoreMirrors are not always welcome but they are always there, in front of us. Photographically investigating what mirrors can do... Is it the same thing as meditating on the human experience?
Read MoreThe good thing about the states of mind (there are many bad ones as well, but I am not focusing on them) is that you can be in them whenever you want -which in the venetian state of mind case is constantly. A photographic investigator also knows that being constantly in a state of mind transports you physically to the place that this state of mind is connected with. Travel or relocation is a lot easier and faster this way.
Read MoreThe life of a photographic investigator can be "found" in or "described" by Electric Light Orchestra's songs. It's magic. So, today, I guess it's "Heaven only knows" from the album "Balance of Power": Now the sun will shine
And I'm gonna work it out this time
And before the light
All I gotta take is one more night
Heaven only knows, I'm really on the level
Heaven only knows, I'm trying to find a way
Heaven only knows, I'm walking down a straight and lonely road today
Whenever you hang your clothes to dry in Venice, I'll be there to photographically investigate them, rest assured! A photographic investigator only has so many assignments...
Read MoreShe was a fellow photographic investigator. It was obvious from the way she was trying to avoid my lens. Of course this is impossible. But she didn't know... I met her in the airport, as I was waiting my delayed Honolulu flight. Alohe oe, the beautiful song that the hawaiian queen Lili'uokalani had composed a long time ago, was in my ears and in my heart. Another unplanned photographic investigation... Until we meet again...
Read MoreThat morning I woke up in Venice and, the thought that I had received bad news the night before, didn't appear in my mind immediately. Those precious 10 seconds of freedom from the past gave me a kind of optimism... Maybe tomorrow they would be 15 or 20... My first impression was a song from my youth - from those years that for some reason always bring a feeling of carelessness and happiness, although you know that they weren't that careless nor that happy... But it was a good start. Another day in paradise was about to begin... All I had to do was to photographically investigate a beautiful young pianist who belonged to the mysterious Il Mister circle. And mysterious and reserved she was... I had to take extra precautions as I was warned about her extraordinary ability to manipulate everything and everyone while she was playing Chopin. I cannot reveal these precautions. They obviously worked though, because all that she played was Chopin...
Read MoreShe was being watched and she knew it... Ennio Morricone's mesmerising theme from an old french movie with Alain Delon, Jean Gabin and Lino Ventura was haunting the almost deserted pavilions of the Biennale of Venice. Something was wrong and each time footsteps approached she felt the danger. But not fear. Of course I was there not only to investigate her but also to protect her from her pursuers. It was her shoes that they wanted. In the heel of the left one there was a hidden secret. Pressure would destroy it, so the only way to ensure her safety was to make her run... And I did.
Read MoreAnother obscure Venice personality, connected to the Mister circle of spies and other mysterious people... Her code name was "Mis Legs" not only for the obvious reasons but because this was the last thing her enemies saw after they were defeated... I investigated her through many angles and the fact that you are seeing the fruits of my photographic investigation proves that I wasn't her enemy. To be continued...
Read MoreIn between photographic investigations, random shots of Venice. Sunday mornings I always visualise of moving there... And I always wanted to make a post with the word "untitled" in the title!
Read MoreFrom the Reality Project inevitably emerges a New Reality... Biennale Architettura Venezia, 2016.
Read MorePhotographically investigating people who aren't real -but they think they are- is a challenge... Who knows... maybe I am being investigated myself right now. How do I know for sure that I am real? When the question really arises, answering it becomes a true challenge... You should try it yourself!
Read MoreMy intention was to fool my employers that this investigation had taken place at night somewhere in Giudecca, in Venice... My subject, a woman of mystery, didn't give me any trouble, it was almost as if we had planned a photo shooting... Truffaut's film gave me the idea for the deception but I couldn't go through with it... Underexposing an underexposed situation seemed to me ironic and pointless... It wouldn't be the first time that an investigation would take a different twist... I decided to follow that one to see where it goes...
Read MoreMister Minimal had a whole chapter for himself in my photographic investigations' book... Elusive, mysterious, a published photographer, very rich and very loved, he was called by many "The King of Venice". He was also one of my favourite subjects and a very lucky man. Let's face it: being investigates 3-4 times a year by a photographic investigator as myself is a rare thing! Mister Minimal always knows when he is being investigated but never shows it. That's one of the things that make him a great subject. As well as the fact that he likes to walk ahead of everybody, preferably in empty narrow streets, so his minimalism is easy to capture. Mister Minimal's photographic style is a projection of his true self. Beautiful minimal black and white empty spaces that suggest a welcoming heart, an unprejudiced mind and an openness of spirit. And although my sources tell me that from time to time he is letting the troubles of his earthly existence carry him in the crowded frames of worry and fear, I can always see him walking the sunlit path of great, pure, yet elusive, minimalism...
Read MoreIt was June, I was in between jobs and a big ship was entering the laguna... Residents of the Hilton Molino Stucky were waiting for the Alilaguna shuttle to the airport, a couple of tourists was resting on a bench and what looked like a lonely man was passing by... Typical Giudecca afternoon... lots of things to investigate...
Read MoreA very short photographic investigation about a mysterious guard in the Gran Scuola di Santa Maria della Misericordia in Venice that just disappeared into thin air. A routine job for me... So many vanishing subjects in my career...
Read MoreNicoletta made these fantastic corsets using ancient mexican magic... I did not manage to find out what was their special purpose... but I know it had something to do with flying...
Read MoreAnother of Nicoletta's magical garments... It was a real genie... A helper that granted wishes. How many, only the lucky ones who wear it can say...
Read MoreNicoletta was a magical being. She created enchanted garments in a little shop in Campo S. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. Her creations were famous for the special attributes they gave to the one who wore them, so I was hired to investigate 4 of her most powerful corsets. First, the Black Corset. Probably the most impressive one. It's secret, and greatest power, was that it could hide the halo that surrounds exceptional, spiritual beings from clairvoyant agents that worked for... (let's put it this way)... darker forces. It was a protection, a magical armour for ethereal presences. And it worked perfectly. Nicoletta used Luana, a beautiful fairy, to model her corsets and make sure that they served their purpose. And I was the witness.
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