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Four decades of being a photographer inevitably results in the development of both a way of seeing and a way of telling. When I first set out as a photographer, I realised that although a photograph should ‘speak’ for itself, a story always brought it to life. Now, here I am forty years later, writing about my photographs and about photography as one of the most powerful ways of communicating. DAVID GILBERT WRIGHT Four decades of being a photographer inevitably results in the development of both a way of seeing and a way of telling. When I first set out as a photographer, I realised that although a photograph should ‘speak’ for itself, a story always brought it to life. Now, here I am forty years later, writing about my photographs and about photography as one of the most powerful ways of communicating. LOCATION London UNITED KINGDOM CAMERA/S Pentax KX, Nikon F2 WEBSITE http://www.davidwright.photography @DAVIDGILBERTWRIGHT FEATURES // Disappearing Ireland Activists For Change The Storyteller The Appleby Horse Fair

DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. September 21, 2025 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Jay Hsu INTERVIEW Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE This interview offers an opportunity to explore the quiet power of diptychs through the work of Taiwanese photographer and educator Jay Hsu. Known for his poetic and contemplative approach to photography, Jay has developed a distinctive voice that reveals itself in the thoughtful pairing of images. His diptychs do not simply mirror or contrast, they create a dialogue. The elements within each frame take on life and meaning, working together to form a complex narrative. Beyond the surface, deeper themes of ideology, emotion, and memory emerge, enriching the story told by the images. Through careful pairing and subtle connections in shape, tone, and feeling, he creates visual relationships that reveal themselves slowly and invite thoughtful reflection. Jay’s journey into photography began as a deeply personal exploration, a way to find calm and meaning amid life’s challenges. “Photography was a medium for my own inner exploration,” he writes, “a pause, a lifesaving deep breath.” But after the birth of his daughter and a deepening of his Christian faith, his creative path shifted. “The very essence of my photography moved from self-exploration to a connection with people. This connection is one of goodness and light, even in a world that can feel broken and disappointing.” Over time, this philosophy expanded beyond image making into a broader mission rooted in education and community. As project leader of Shining Hope, a photography-based learning program for children in rural Taiwan, Jay now helps young people “see with intention and express their experiences with honesty and care.” His work as a mentor is deeply linked to his personal creative vision, and he lives, in his own words, “to publish, explore, and educate, to provide freedom and bring influence to children in rural and underprivileged communities.” At the heart of his work lies the diptych, a visual form Jay calls “the perfect medium to illustrate relationships.” What once began as a symbolic pairing of objects has become a more intuitive and graceful language. “I later discovered a new, delightful, and clever way to create by subtly linking and extending lines, shapes, and colors. This method allows for a seamless flow, mirroring the journey of life, from chaos to peace, from poverty to abundance, from darkness to light.” In this conversation, Jay Hsu shares how this way of seeing became central to his practice, how diptychs allow him to explore emotional and visual continuity, and how photography continues to shape his understanding of beauty, resilience, and hope. His story is quiet and clear, and grounded in the belief that “even when things fall apart, we can still maintain goodness, hold onto our childlike innocence, and embrace a bright and hopeful future.” “At present, my works are almost always drawn from past photographs, reconnected in new ways. Of course, each moment of shooting carries its own emotions. But when two photos, each with its own mood, are placed together, a new flow of emotions emerges — something shaped by time and continuity — becoming the emotion of the present moment.” IN CONVERSATION WITH JAY HSU TPL: Your journey into photography began as a personal exploration as a kind of pause or life-saving deep breath, as you’ve described it. Can you share more about that time in your life? What were you seeking, and what did the act of making images begin to offer you that words or other forms of expression could not? JAYE: I became a Christian in 2006. Before that, in my twenties, I was in a stage of exploring my interests, ambitions, self-growth, and self-worth. At that time, I was sentimental, quiet, melancholic, yet also full of pride. With the money I earned from part-time jobs, I bought my first digital camera, a Canon IXUS100, and took pictures everywhere—inside my room, on the streets, in the mountains, and by the sea. I think there were many complicated thoughts within me then. Besides writing, I discovered that photographs, like short poems, could carry many thoughts and emotions, even states of being that words could not fully describe. Photography became an open space, a refuge, a temporary deep breath. It might not have solved my problems, but it allowed me to store away my restlessness, melancholy, and turmoil for a while, giving my life some breathing room so I could move forward to the next stage. TPL: You’ve moved across many genres, including documentary, street, wedding, landscape, and conceptual photography. How did those varied experiences inform the way you now see, compose, and tell stories? Were there moments when those different practices overlapped or challenged each other in unexpected ways? JAY: I’m someone who enjoys being different and who also enjoys learning. When I first started photography, I studied all kinds of techniques and tried various styles. Later, when I felt stuck in terms of form, I began to explore the essence and meaning of photography itself. Now, at 48, I’m grateful for every stage of learning. None of it was wasted — they all became nourishment for my life. Technical skills and equipment are secondary. What mattered most was how learning across genres and theories taught me to observe and reflect on life, and to express it through my preferred creative approach. Sometimes documentary overlapped with wedding photography, conceptual photography intertwined with street shots, or the essence of photography merged with sequencing images, or diptychs combined with minimalist negative space. These practices reflect my love of being different and my belief that life is a continuous, exciting journey forward. TPL: At some point, your personal exploration shifted into something more focused on community, especially after becoming a father and a Christian. How did that transformation take shape, and in what ways has it deepened your sense of purpose as a photographer? JAY: I believe my Christian faith was the main reason for this transformation. Throughout life, people keep asking: Who am I? What am I pursuing? Why am I alive? Where will I go after death? These questions about the self-found their answers in my faith. Becoming a husband and father also naturally shifted my focus from myself to caring for my wife, daughter, and others. Once my heart was filled with God’s love, I naturally wanted to give and contribute, hoping to make the world a little brighter and kinder. Even if my influence is small, light is made of countless small sparks gathered together. To be one of those sparks already feels wonderful. TPL: Diptychs have become a defining element of your visual language. You’ve spoken about their ability to express relationships, not just between images but between ideas, emotions, and spiritual concepts. What makes this format so powerful for you, and how do you know when two images belong together? In short: it’s fun! I enjoy playful forms of creation. I first learned about diptychs when I took further photography courses, and I thought: Oh, photography can also be presented this way. Since I’ve always loved duplication, re-creation, and collage, this format of pairing two images to express an idea suited me perfectly. I truly admire photographers who can capture multiple visual elements and relationships in a single frame — the dialogue between objects or symbols. But I knew I didn’t always have the time to wait for a “decisive moment,” nor the instinctive “photographic eye” for it. So instead, I leaned into my own strengths and preferred ways of expression. There’s no need to be like everyone else — I can still communicate what I want in my own way. As for knowing when two images belong together, it depends on my life experience, my present state of being, and the worldview I want to convey. Often, I’ll first pick one image that moves me deeply in that moment, then close my eyes and imagine which other photo could best express the idea I want to convey. Finally, I’ll look for connections in lines, shapes, or colors from my existing archive. Sometimes inspiration strikes unexpectedly — in the shower or while driving — because I already know my own photo collection well. (That said, I often revise my diptychs. The next day, I might find another image that pairs even better, and I’ll replace it.) TPL: You mention that you moved from illustrating symbols and object relationships to linking elements like lines, shapes, and colors with transitions that feel playful and intuitive. Can you take us into that shift in your visual thinking? How did you begin seeing these connections, and how do they inform your sequencing? JAY: Simply put, I wanted my work to be more accessible — to be seen and understood by a wider audience. Academic art can often feel difficult for the general public to grasp without training in visual language or photography theory. My motivation wasn’t fame or personal gain, but rather to use my work to convey goodness and spark resonance — to let people know that even in the darkest times, they can still shine. But for that message to be heard, the work must first be seen — it must catch people’s eyes in the flood of images on social media. To create that visual pause, the work needed to stand out in a unique way. By coincidence, I encountered the works of photographer Joakim Moller, and they left me with a sense of ‘visual lingering’ (a form of persistence of vision that lingers in one’s perception). I was struck by how masterfully he could join two photographs together, creating a profound aesthetic shock for the eye while also carrying layers of meaning. That encounter inspired me to try it myself, and in doing so I discovered a genuine interest and passion, with the work also receiving considerable resonance from viewers. This formal shift didn’t change my sequencing process too much. The core concept of the work still comes first. What changed is that finding two images that link well is more challenging than presenting a single photo—but at the same time, it’s much more fun. TPL: Your work carries a strong emotional undercurrent that holds both light and melancholy. How do belief, memory, and emotional resonance shape the narratives you build within a pair of images? Do you seek out particular moods when shooting, or do they emerge during the editing process? JAY: When it comes to belief, memory, and emotional resonance, to be honest, I can’t precisely explain how they interact, connect, and build a story — after all, these things have already been internalized within my heart and soul. But I am grateful for the moments of melancholy and pain, because they refined my life and now contrast or echo with the light I experience today. It’s precisely because of those experiences that my work has depth and carries stories. At present, my works are almost always drawn from past photographs, reconnected in new ways. Of course, each moment of shooting carries its own emotions. But when two photos, each with its own mood, are placed together, a new flow of emotions emerges — something shaped by time and continuity — becoming the emotion of the present moment. Even if my influence is small, light is made of countless small sparks gathered together. To be one of those sparks already feels wonderful. TPL: You’ve described your images as a movement from chaos to peace, from darkness to light. That is both a visual and philosophical journey. How do you hold space for both beauty and brokenness in your work, and what does it mean to you to create within that tension? JAY: Acceptance. I think it’s about accepting the beautiful parts of myself, but also the broken ones. Through creating, it becomes not only a reflection on my own life but also a way of sharing my life perspective and philosophy with others — perhaps with those who are also going through brokenness, or those who are stepping into beautiful seasons of life. Pain can be overcome, and the nourishment pain gives will eventually nurture love and light. Even if the light is small, it can still drive away darkness and make the darkness tremble. TPL: Your diptychs invite viewers to slow down and observe carefully. There is a quiet clarity in your compositions, but also a sense of layers waiting to be uncovered. How do you balance visual simplicity with conceptual depth? What does it mean to you for a photo to speak beyond what is seen? JAY: Practice — continuous practice — and looking at many good photographs. Just like writing, everything begins with imitation. Then, as you add your own life experiences and philosophy, those once-imitated words or images gradually take on your own style and creativity. Balancing visual simplicity with conceptual depth is something I only came to understand after studying courses in visual language, photographic art, and the essence of photography. It’s about learning how to arrange, how to suggest meaning through metaphor. Of course, creating diptychs as collages — finding visual balance and playfulness — is not so difficult. But deciding which two photos to choose, and what meaning emerges when they are paired — that is where the real subtlety and significance lie. When I succeed in making a work that speaks beyond what is seen, it means my life has depth, and I am ready to share with others a message of beauty that is mine yet also belongs to them. TPL: Your role as project leader for SHINING HOPE marks a significant shift in your career, from personal creator to educator and mentor. What inspired you to formalize this work, and how has your approach to teaching photography evolved since your early days volunteering for Children Eye? JAY: It’s a long story, but to put it simply — the answer is calling. This sense of calling comes from my Christian faith, and it arose after I truly came to know myself and understand my self-worth. It grew alongside my daughter’s growth. The photos I took of her touched many people’s hearts, and I realized for the first time that photographs can have real impact. Later, I traveled with World Vision Taiwan to Uganda and documented children in the slums. That experience deepened my conviction that children’s education and companionship are crucial — because children are the foundation and hope of the future. So, I made a decisive choice to resign from my church job, move my family to the countryside (to be closer to rural communities), and take on the photography program that was about to be discontinued, stepping into the role of project leader. Transitioning from volunteer to leader meant my teaching became more careful and thorough. I wanted to use photography education not only to teach skills, but also to accompany children, build their confidence, cultivate good character, and help them know and take pride in their hometowns. At that time, Taiwan had very few photography education programs for children, let alone well-developed curricula. So, I referenced international teaching resources (such as Aperture), local art education plans, and children’s picture books that told stories through images. I also pursued further studies in photography and art. After many revisions, I developed the curriculum we have today. It is collaborative and interdisciplinary, designed together with schoolteachers, and integrates art, language, social studies, and science — a holistic, theme-based approach. TPL: You have said that your mission is to provide freedom and bring influence to children in rural communities through visual storytelling. What kind of transformation do you witness in students as they begin to tell their own stories with a camera? Can you share a moment or student that particularly moved you? JAY: Although it looks like we’re teaching photography, in truth it’s more like life education — and so there are countless stories. One that left a deep impression was a girl I’ll call Xiao-Fan. When she was in sixth grade, she confided to a teacher that she had suicidal thoughts. But after learning photography, she shared with her teacher that whenever she felt down, she would pick up her camera and photograph the sky. Watching the constantly changing blue sky lifted her mood. Even after our program at her school ended, she kept photographing the sky. By ninth grade, she held her first solo exhibition at Share & Cultural & Creative Café. Among her works, her favorite piece was called Soft and Fluffy, featuring clouds that looked like cotton candy. In her artist statement, she wrote: “I think everyone needs something soft and fluffy — maybe a stuffed toy, a pillow, or a cat — because soft things can heal the wounds of every person’s heart.” TPL: You have compared your creative process to the feeling of enjoying a child’s drawing, embracing playful, intuitive, and full of surprise. How do you maintain that sense of openness in your own work, especially while also teaching structure and technique to others? JAY: My ability to maintain a sense of playfulness, intuition, and surprise in photography really comes from working in education — leading rural children in photography and creating alongside them. To be precise, it’s more about recovering a childlike way of observing and creating. I’m also very grateful to my own photography teachers, who introduced me to ideas like “there are no standard answers” and “open-ended conclusions.” These ideas fit perfectly into the way I now teach children. While I try to guide them with freedom and playfulness, in truth, they are my teachers. The surprises and inspiration I get from their works are far greater than what I give them. TPL: As you continue to grow both as an artist and an educator, what are the new questions or directions that excite you? Are there creative risks you hope to take, or new communities you want to engage through your work in the years ahead? JAY: I think I want to become more of an educator than an artist. But because the photography education I do is closely tied to art, I must also keep learning and growing in photography myself. In the coming years, aside from exploring new creative methods, I hope to organize a Photography Education Exhibition in Taiwan. This would bring together teams, organizations, and artists working in photography education across the country. Through a large-scale exhibition, people passionate about photography education could learn from each other, and perhaps even create a shared general photography curriculum for Taiwanese children. All of this effort is for the future of Taiwan—to develop more complete, diverse, forward-looking, and large-scale educational approaches. I feel both excited and eager for that day to come. PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> CONTOURS OF ABSENCE Where concealment unsettles recognition and ordinary spaces turn psychological, the photographs of Serhii Fett suspend identity between presence and absence. THE ART OF ATTENTION Curiosity turns portraits, objects, and places into discoveries as Len Irish reflects on a life shaped by the camera’s attention. WHERE EMOTIONS BREATHE Simple encounters Irina Sedletskaya almost missed become photographs shaped by silence, distance, uncertainty, memory, hope, and resilience. THE VILLAGE A workers’ neighbourhood becomes a living archive as Virginia Cassano photographs the people, streets, and memories that continue to shape Villaggio Piaggio. MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details.

As long as I can think, I have been fascinated by observing people in everyday life situations, trying to make sense of their actions and to understand how they relate to their environment. Even as a child I could be dropped off somewhere, offering me a viewpoint on life unfolding under my eyes and then to be picked up hours later. This fascination took me quite naturally into studying anthropology and cultural linguistics. While others thrive on exoticism, it is normalcy and the underlying web of cultural and personal significations that attract me and provide me with a sentiment of happiness. This also influences my photography. Living in Nice - after Paris the most touristic and best known French city - I try to use my camera to witness life behind postcard views and to celebrate the beauty of everyday people in everyday activities. I love catching the moment never coming back, involving a minute but significant detail. I have recently explored the color blue more intensively to reveal another side of the denomination "Cote d'Azur" - "Blue Coast" used for the Nice region. French law is tricky for street photography - you normally need people's authorization to take their picture. Asking permission beforehand would destroy the candid street shot. I tried to build my own ethic framework around this. Never shoot to ridicule, show the picture as often as possible to the people afterwards and propose sharing or deleting. Today, there are many people I know by name in my neighborhood thanks to photography. If somebody feels beautiful thanks to a candid street shot, it feels like artistic accomplishment for me. In order to give back to the society that sustains me, I have often taken family or business photos for the people I met upon their request. This allowed me to explore a halal butchery and a Vegan restaurant, making me feel somehow useful. ANNETTE LANG As long as I can think, I have been fascinated by observing people in everyday life situations, trying to make sense of their actions and to understand how they relate to their environment. Even as a child I could be dropped off somewhere, offering me a viewpoint on life unfolding under my eyes and then to be picked up hours later. This fascination took me quite naturally into studying anthropology and cultural linguistics. While others thrive on exoticism, it is normalcy and the underlying web of cultural and personal significations that attract me and provide me with a sentiment of happiness. This also influences my photography. Living in Nice - after Paris the most touristic and best known French city - I try to use my camera to witness life behind postcard views and to celebrate the beauty of everyday people in everyday activities. I love catching the moment never coming back, involving a minute but significant detail. I have recently explored the color blue more intensively to reveal another side of the denomination "Cote d'Azur" - "Blue Coast" used for the Nice region. French law is tricky for street photography - you normally need people's authorization to take their picture. Asking permission beforehand would destroy the candid street shot. I tried to build my own ethic framework around this. Never shoot to ridicule, show the picture as often as possible to the people afterwards and propose sharing or deleting. Today, there are many people I know by name in my neighborhood thanks to photography. If somebody feels beautiful thanks to a candid street shot, it feels like artistic accomplishment for me. In order to give back to the society that sustains me, I have often taken family or business photos for the people I met upon their request. This allowed me to explore a halal butchery and a Vegan restaurant, making me feel somehow useful. LOCATION Nice FRANCE CAMERA/S Fuji X-T4, Leica Q2 @LUXTASIA FEATURES // My Cape of Good Hope Archaeological Paradoxes

THAT’S HOW IT IS Luisa Montagna explores the fluid nature of reality - how it shifts depending on the observer, emphasizing that subjective perception takes precedence over objective truth. THAT’S HOW IT IS (if it seems to me) February 2, 2025 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Luisa Montagna INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Luisa Montagna’s artistic evolution bridges music, visual communication, and photography. Trained as a professional cellist, she spent years performing in orchestras and chamber ensembles before dedicating herself to visual arts and photography. This transition marked a shift in how Luisa has approached creative expression — from sound to images, from performance to visual storytelling. Initially drawn to documentary reportage, Luisa’s work has evolved toward an evocative approach, where layered and blended images challenge the viewer’s perception of reality. Her latest project, “That's how it is (if it seems to me)”, borrows its title from Luigi Pirandello’s well-known play. In this series, Luisa explores the fluid nature of reality — how it shifts depending on the observer, emphasizing that subjective perception takes precedence over objective truth. Through her photographs, she invites viewers to consider the unknowability of what we accept as real and the value of personal interpretation. In this interview, Luisa Montagna reflects on her artistic progression, the conceptual underpinnings of her recent series, how her visual work continues to engage with broader questions of perception and identity, and her ongoing search for personal and artistic identity. “Very early on I realized that there exist many different ways of seeing and perceiving reality, as many as there are people. This is one of the reasons why human relationships are so complex. I think the relationship with my cello, or my camera is much simpler, even though we often argue. Joking aside, I like to share my own view of reality. I hope my images shift the focus to another possible way of seeing the world, maybe a fantasy, magical, dystopian world, but never a copy of a real world. That’s why That’s how it is (if it seems to me).” IN CONVERSATION WITH LUISA MONTAGNA THE PICTORIAL LIST: Welcome to The Pictorial List, Luisa! Let's start, by talking about photography entering your life at an advanced stage, almost unexpectedly. How did that first experience with a camera shift your creative focus? LUISA: It gives me great pleasure to join this interesting community of The Pictorial List. I started photography when I was no longer very young, somewhat by accident, when my husband gave me one of his cameras. At first, I only photographed when I went on vacation and took very “touristy” pictures. When I began to have back problems, I almost completely abandoned the camera because of the weights I could no longer carry. But after a few years the new mirrorless cameras, much lighter, came out on the market and I immediately bought one. From that day on, I never stop photographing. It is since then that my path as a photographer changed totally, almost suddenly, although I am sure that something matured in me during the period of inactivity. TPL: You began your artistic career as a professional cellist and later transitioned into visual communication and photography. How do you think your background in music influences your photographic work today? LUISA: Very often I have reflected on this topic, and the answer is not simple. Perhaps it influences the “forma mentis” of the classical musician, who studies a lot, always digs deep into the score and looks for artistic inspiration from it. A great peculiarity of art in general is that it moves feelings, emotions, thoughts: the deepest and most personal part of ourselves. I think I have internalized all that, which is now expressed in my photography in a completely natural way. I also find that there is a great affinity between classical music and photography in the development of stories, the first through compositions consisting of multiple tempos that have a theme as a common thread that runs throughout the piece, the second through storytelling that develops the theme according to a rhythm. TPL: You overlap and merge images to create a dreamlike aesthetic. What is your process for deciding which elements to combine, and what are you hoping to evoke? LUISA: I usually use different techniques depending on the type of image I want to achieve. In the series That's how it is (if it seems to me), which is a work-in-progress series, I choose from some of my photos according to my mood at that moment and put them together trying to create an alternative vision of reality. In other series I use a particular technique that gives me a chance to take my dreamy vision in one picture. I really like to make images in the moment, based on what I find interesting and stimulating, it is difficult for me to meditate on individual shots in detail. I can say that I am instinctive in photography. Even the subjects I choose are the result of the moment: I see a situation that I like and I imagine the snapshot. In this sense I think my images are the expression of myself. My hope is to provide starting points for the viewer to experience an emotion, a dream, an escape, an imaginative thinking about an alternative world. TPL: Do you think your work is more about escaping reality, questioning it, or reconstructing it? LUISA: Regarding this topic, let me tell you a little anecdote. When I played, a conductor, who often came to conduct, used to say to me during rehearsals: Luisa, don't dream! Maybe it was his way of telling me to be more careful, but now I can say that the escape from reality is part of me, it is an aspect of my character that is reflected in the way I photograph. TPL: When creating this series, were you influenced by any particular artists, movements, or philosophical ideas? LUISA: I can say no, or maybe it’s yes, but I don’t realize it. For years, I have studied the lives and works of great or unknown photographers, painters, writers, and composers, but I have no idols — only preferences. I believe I have arrived at this way of expressing myself because it has matured within me, and when I look back, I see that I have come a long way. TPL: You describe photography as a path of growth and self-expression. What does “self-expression” mean to you within the visual medium? LUISA: In my opinion, it means having the ability to translate one's inner world into images — a way of being that is the result of one's character and life experiences. TPL: What rewards and challenges have you faced as a photographer starting later in life, and how have they shaped your perspective as an artist? LUISA: I had the good fortune, in quotes, to approach this way of photography just before the pandemic, so during lockdowns I started taking online courses and workshops, and during non-restrictive periods I would practice. The challenges came when I started submitting my projects to national and international competitions and the first satisfactions came. This gave me confidence to continue on my path and I think I will continue to search for myself in photography. It is difficult for me to say whether my beginning at an older age affects the way I photograph, but I think it does. When you photograph, your past, your history comes into play. TPL: Looking ahead, how do you see your artistic voice evolving? Are there any themes, techniques, or approaches you are eager to explore in the future? What are your photography goals and where do you hope to see yourself in the next 3-5 years? LUISA: I am certainly thinking of new themes to develop and new techniques to study. My dream in the closet is to make a book and a solo exhibition, but I don't set myself any time limits. For now, I am participating in group exhibitions, which is important for me to understand the world of art galleries. TPL: What would we find in your camera bag? Is your equipment an integral part of your practice? LUISA: I use a mirrorless and have three lenses, one of which I use a lot right now. With this equipment I'm trying to figure out what is the best result that I get based on the subjects that I identify. I never prepare my shots, so I test at the very moment I shoot. TPL: If you could just choose one photographer or artist to shoot or collaborate with for a day...who would you choose? And why? LUISA: I really love cinema, so certainly a day on the set of a Federico Fellini film. In his films he was able to create dreamy, timeless atmospheres that were a great inspiration to me. Tarkovsky, too, for the universal themes of his films shot with few tools, but with great effectiveness. Now I can only review their great films. TPL: “When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… LUISA: Play my cello. It is my second life partner after my husband.” Thank you, Melanie, for this beautiful interview of yours. It was a good time for me to stop and reflect on my photographic world. PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> CONTOURS OF ABSENCE Where concealment unsettles recognition and ordinary spaces turn psychological, the photographs of Serhii Fett suspend identity between presence and absence. THE ART OF ATTENTION Curiosity turns portraits, objects, and places into discoveries as Len Irish reflects on a life shaped by the camera’s attention. WHERE EMOTIONS BREATHE Simple encounters Irina Sedletskaya almost missed become photographs shaped by silence, distance, uncertainty, memory, hope, and resilience. THE VILLAGE A workers’ neighbourhood becomes a living archive as Virginia Cassano photographs the people, streets, and memories that continue to shape Villaggio Piaggio. MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details.

UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. September 7, 2025 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Sebastian Piatek INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Unknown Abyssinia unfolds as a study in visual reduction, where each photograph is stripped to its essential elements to explore the relationship between human presence, architectural form, and the structuring effects of light and shadow. Set in the Ethiopian cities of Harar and Dire Dawa, the series is unified by a recurring motif: women moving through spaces defined by weathered surfaces and geometric divisions of light. These figures are neither isolated portraits nor incidental passers-by; they are integral to the compositional fabric, anchoring the frame while engaging in a subtle dialogue with their surroundings. Color functions as a structural device rather than ornament. The result is a sequence of photographs in which architectural space and human movement are held in measured equilibrium, and where the smallest details carry as much visual and narrative significance as the subject itself. More than a documentary record, the work operates as a formal inquiry into how presence is articulated within an urban environment. The photographer, Sebastian Piatek, was born in Poland, spent the majority of his life in Germany, and now works between India and Germany. His photographic practice began in the early years of mobile phone cameras, with intimate images of family and friends. Travel expanded his vision, particularly in India, where he gravitated toward the dense layering of street life. Over time, this maximalist approach gave way to a more pared-back vision. His first visit to Ethiopia marked a decisive point in this evolution, prompting a sustained focus on spatial clarity and compositional restraint. Sebastian’s encounters with his subjects are unforced, allowing the images to carry a sense of continuity. The impression is given that life extends beyond the frame. The visual language is anchored in the dialogue between the saturated tones of clothing and the subdued, weathered surfaces of the built environment. Hijabs act as deliberate focal points, immediately orienting the viewer within the image. These color accents are deliberate, operating in tension with the tonal restraint of the surrounding architecture to create a balanced yet dynamic field. Each frame is composed with a marked resistance to excess, isolating a small number of visual elements so that their relationships register with clarity. This measured approach fosters a sense of visual calm, even within environments alive with movement. Figures are frequently cropped or caught mid-motion, lending the photographs the quality of excerpts from a continuous flow of life rather than self-contained scenes. Architecture acts not as backdrop but as an active participant. Textured plaster, peeling paint, exposed stone, and shifting patterns of light and shadow shape the formal structure as decisively as the human figures themselves. The result is a continuous negotiation between permanence, embodied in the enduring walls, and transience, embodied in the passing figures. Recurrent compositional strategies — figures moving parallel to walls, lateral light defining shadows, color providing counterpoint — give the series cohesion, while subtle variations in gesture, fabric, and light invite sustained engagement. Grounded in observation, the work privileges the quiet continuity of lived experience over staged or embellished moments. What began as a self-contained project has become the foundation for an ongoing exploration, one that Sebastian Piatek intends to continue on future visits to Africa. In the following conversation, Sebastian reflects on the making of Unknown Abyssinia, the evolution of his photographic language, and how his encounters with place continue to shape the direction of his work. “Unknown Abyssinia feels less like a finished story and more like a first chapter. There are many threads that I hope to follow through which I would like to connect deeper to the beauty, the mystery and the spirit of Ethiopia. My first journey has left me with a lasting impression, but I feel that I barely just touched the surface and that there is so much waiting for me to explore. And returning to Ethiopia - and also exploring other parts of Africa - for me is about continuing that exploration in the sense of letting the work evolve naturally rather than trying to close any narrative neatly.” IN CONVERSATION WITH SEBASTIAN PIATEK TPL: When you think back to the earliest photographs you made — those first experiments with a mobile phone camera — what do you see now that perhaps you didn’t recognize at the time? Were there already signs of the way you would later compose and respond to the world visually? SEBASTIAN: When I look back at those first phone shots, I see that I was already chasing the same things I do now - small gestures, contrasts, and the beauty of the people and also the mundane. At the time I thought they were just casual snapshots, but they reveal an instinct for framing and storytelling that I didn’t yet have the words or tools for. Also, I was not aware of the factor time that adds extra magic to photographs after many years have passed or even decades. TPL: Your life has taken you from Poland to Germany, and now you work between India and Germany. How have these shifts in geography, culture, and pace of life influenced not only what you choose to photograph, but the very way you look at and interpret the world around you? SEBASTIAN: Moving between Germany and India and also travelling other parts of the world has taught me that the street in a broad sense is never just a backdrop - it’s a mirror of culture, rhythm, and identity. In Germany or generally in Europe, I am drawn to structure, clean surfaces and backgrounds and the order of urban life. In India for example, the streets are the opposite: vibrant, chaotic, overflowing with stories and sometimes harder to frame than one can imagine. Those contrasts changed not only what I photograph, but how I see. I’ve learned to be more open, more patient, and more curious. Shifting cultures has made me realize there isn’t one ‘truth’ in an image - there are layers, shaped by context, pace, and perspective. For me, photography has become less about chasing the ‘perfect shot’ and more about listening to what each place wants to reveal. TPL: Was there a particular photograph, encounter, or moment that transformed photography from something casual into a deliberate practice — a point where you realized it could be the medium through which you express and investigate your way of seeing? SEBASTIAN: Photography became serious for me not in a single moment, but through a combination of experiences - and one important influence: some time ago, a teacher of mine - not in photography, but in life - suggested to me to buy a reasonably good camera and to seriously work with it. He was the first person who believed in me, and he managed to convince me that I could become a good photographer. From that point, every photograph - every fleeting gesture, street encounter, or unexpected detail - became a way to explore how I see the world. That encouragement transformed photography from casual snapshots into a deliberate, personal practice. It became not just a medium, but my language for noticing and expressing life’s subtle stories. TPL: Ethiopia marked a turning point in your practice. Can you describe your first impressions of Harar and Dire Dawa — not only visually, but in terms of atmosphere, pace, and light — and how those impressions began to influence the way you worked from the outset? SEBASTIAN: Arriving in Harar and Dire Dawa felt like stepping into a world that somehow, I am deeply familiar with (because I am a quite experienced traveler and also have been to Africa before) and yet at the same time is the strangest, most exotic and intense experience I ever had. The streets were alive with color, visual richness, texture, patterns, incredibly beautiful people and also a quiet undercurrent - moments of stillness and mystery tucked between the intensity. The light was incredible: warm, layered, and always shifting, almost too much to take in all at once. Those first impressions immediately changed how I worked. I learned to slow down, to observe rather than chase, and to let the places reveal its stories on its own terms. Composition became about capturing both motion and pause, energy and subtlety, and finding the poetry that exists in the ordinary moment of everyday Ethiopian life. Ethiopia taught me to be present again - to let the place guide my eye rather than imposing my vision on it. TPL: The transition towards minimalism emerged naturally while you were photographing in Ethiopia. Was this an instinctive change in how you framed scenes, or did it crystallize later during editing, when you could see the work as a body and recognize the shift in direction? SEBASTIAN: The move toward minimalism was both instinctive and reflective. On the streets of Ethiopia, I found myself naturally drawn to simplicity - a beautiful simple background, a gesture, a line, or a patch of light, all of that could hold an entire story on its own. The beauty of the environment itself seemed to invite restraint. Later, when I reviewed the work in editing, the pattern became clear. I could see how my eye had shifted, how I was letting spaces breathe and giving singular elements the attention they deserved. Minimalism didn’t feel imposed; it was an organic evolution - a way to let the essence of a scene speak without distraction. TPL: Throughout Unknown Abyssinia, the women create a thread of continuity, carrying both a cultural and visual presence. What did they come to represent for you during your time in Ethiopia? How conscious were you of this during the process, and what role do you feel they play in telling the story of these places? SEBASTIAN: The women I photographed in Ethiopia quickly became more than subjects - they were anchors in the fabric of daily life, a thread connecting moments, places, and stories. Their presence carried both a cultural and visual weight: the way they moved, worked, or simply existed in the streets conveyed resilience, grace and a lived history that words could never fully capture. At the time, I wasn’t fully conscious of the role they would play in the narrative. I was following instinct, drawn to the gestures, colors, and interactions that spoke to me. It was only later, seeing the body of work come together, that I understood how central they were - a continuity that helps viewers navigate the pace, emotion, and humanity of these places. The women became a lens through which the streets and the culture could be felt, not just seen. TPL: Working in a culture and environment that was new to you brings questions of ethics and representation. How did you navigate photographing people in Ethiopia in a way that ensured the work remained rooted in respect, while also allowing for your own creative interpretation? SEBASTIAN: Photographing in a new culture and actually in any culture always comes with responsibility. In Ethiopia, I approached people with curiosity first, camera second. It was important for me to observe, engage, and understand the nuances of daily life in the streets of Harar and Dire Dawa before pressing the shutter. Respect meant giving space, acknowledging presence, and never forcing a moment. At the same time, I wanted my work to reflect how I see the place, so naturally balancing respect and interpretation became a practice in attentiveness: listening to the place, honoring the people, and letting my vision emerge from that awareness rather than imposing it. The result is work that feels both authentic and personal, rooted in observation and care. TPL: How does working in an unfamiliar location shape your way of seeing when you return to familiar environments? Do you find that the perspective you gain in one place reframes how you photograph elsewhere? SEBASTIAN: Working in an unfamiliar place changes the way you notice everything, even when you return to a familiar environment. In Ethiopia, I learned to slow down, to observe more, to look deeper or let’s say to look for something else that I might have overlooked before. I feel that at least a part of that attentiveness follows me everywhere now. Returning to familiar streets, I see them with fresh eyes, and I notice things that were previously invisible to me. What I can say is that each new environment acts like a lens, subtly reframing how I interpret and photograph the world, making even the ordinary feel full of potential. But at the same time coming from such a photogenic, aesthetically rich and “exotic” place like Ethiopia my inspiration to photograph for example in German streets is exhausted much quicker than before. TPL: Which photographers, artists, or even non-visual creators have had the most enduring influence on your way of seeing, and in what ways do their works resonate within your own practice? SEBASTIAN: My influences come from a wide mix of photographers - there are so many whose work I return to again and again with a sense of disbelief and admiration, but I will name just three of them here. Raghu Rai, for instance, has been a huge inspiration. I own several of his photobooks and have spent a lot of time studying them. For years I’ve felt a strong connection to India, and much of my early inspiration came from Indian photographers. And of course, Alex Webb remains one of my all-time favorites - his use of color and layered compositions never stops teaching me something new. More recently, I’ve been reconnecting with my Polish roots and was thrilled to discover the work of Zbyszko Siemaszko, whose images I deeply admire. What resonates in my practice is less about imitating style and more about absorbing a way of seeing. About Raghu Rai, I admire the patience to let a scene unfold and the ability to frame chaos into something poetic. From Alex Webb, I can learn to embrace complexity - layering color, shadow, subject and background in incredible ways. And with Siemaszko’s work, I’m drawn to how he captured everyday life with such clarity and atmosphere, reminding me that a photograph can be both documentary and deeply lyrical. TPL: What is currently in your photography bag? And beyond gear, is there a location or photographic subject still high on your Wishlist — somewhere you feel would challenge or expand your practice? SEBASTIAN: Since the beginning of 2021 I have been photographing only with the Fuji X100V. Besides that, I have two batteries and a lens hood, that’s all :) There are many places I dream of photographing, but what excites me most are countries that challenge my perception and patience. Ethiopia, for example, made me feel as alive as I have in a long time. The country is both visually stunning and inspiring yet traveling and photographing there was challenging. That combination - working under pressure while staying fully attentive - brought out a new way of seeing for me. For that reason, I’m drawn to return to Ethiopia and explore other African countries as well. For me, it’s not just about ticking off a destination; it’s about finding spaces that push me to slow down, truly observe, and respond honestly. Those are the environments that expand my practice, revealing new stories and perspectives I might never encounter in familiar surroundings. TPL: Where do you see your work — and yourself as a photographer — in two or three years’ time? SEBASTIAN: In two or three years, I hope my work continues to grow in depth and nuance. I want to explore new countries and cultures, but also revisit familiar ones with fresh eyes, noticing details I might have missed before. For myself as a photographer, I hope to become even more attuned to the visual opportunities in front of me and to use them in the most expressive way possible. I also see myself sharing this passion through photography workshops, traveling with others, and guiding them to discover beautiful locations and capture their own images. It has always been a joy for me to show people something extraordinary, and I want to help others see and photograph the world with curiosity and care. TPL: And when you are not travelling, or pressing the shutter on your camera, what else may we find Sebastian enjoying? SEBASTIAN: When I’m not traveling or pressing the shutter, much of my time is still connected to photography. I love to look at the work of well-known photographers and also to discover new photographers and immerse myself in their work. Beyond that, I enjoy reconnecting with my Polish roots by watching old Polish films and series, which always feel like a window into another time and place. I also love going for walks, keeping in touch with friends and family, and meeting new people wherever my travels take me. These moments outside of photography help me stay curious, grounded, and inspired for the work (and pleasure) I return to behind the camera. PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> CONTOURS OF ABSENCE Where concealment unsettles recognition and ordinary spaces turn psychological, the photographs of Serhii Fett suspend identity between presence and absence. THE ART OF ATTENTION Curiosity turns portraits, objects, and places into discoveries as Len Irish reflects on a life shaped by the camera’s attention. WHERE EMOTIONS BREATHE Simple encounters Irina Sedletskaya almost missed become photographs shaped by silence, distance, uncertainty, memory, hope, and resilience. THE VILLAGE A workers’ neighbourhood becomes a living archive as Virginia Cassano photographs the people, streets, and memories that continue to shape Villaggio Piaggio. MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details.

I am addicted to light and constantly looking for special moments in everyday life. Even though I love landscape photography and big vistas, the images that resonate most with me are usually the ones showing something that most would consider banal. I try to capture such situations in a way that allows everybody to see what I found special about them. It can be a special angle of light, an unusual juxtaposition or a feeling of solitude in an empty man made landscape; anything that elevates an unspectacular scene to something beautiful, something worth protecting. GABRIEL SOLLBERGER I am addicted to light and constantly looking for special moments in everyday life. Even though I love landscape photography and big vistas, the images that resonate most with me are usually the ones showing something that most would consider banal. I try to capture such situations in a way that allows everybody to see what I found special about them. It can be a special angle of light, an unusual juxtaposition or a feeling of solitude in an empty man made landscape; anything that elevates an unspectacular scene to something beautiful, something worth protecting. LOCATION Dundee SCOTLAND CAMERA/S Sony A7iii, Minox 35 ML, Canon EOS 550D @SOUL_BERGER FEATURES // Topographical Vistas

I am a street and documentary photographer hailing from the Washington, DC area. My street work specializes in capturing the absurd and profound moments in the quotidian and my documentary work is the result of deep dives for years at a time into various subcultures. I have been recognized internationally by winning numerous photography awards and I have been exhibited in Miami, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Romania, Georgia, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. In 2019 I was a guest lecturer at StreetFoto San Francisco and Street Photo Milano. In 2018 I was named chairperson of the Focus on the Story Festival in Washington, DC. My documentary work on the underground music scene in Washington, D.C., was published as a book, Suspect Device, by Empty Stretch in 2014 and is currently held in the Leica Galerie Archives. CHRIS SUSPECT I am a street and documentary photographer hailing from the Washington, DC area. My street work specializes in capturing the absurd and profound moments in the quotidian and my documentary work is the result of deep dives for years at a time into various subcultures. I have been recognized internationally by winning numerous photography awards and I have been exhibited in Miami, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Romania, Georgia, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. In 2019 I was a guest lecturer at StreetFoto San Francisco and Street Photo Milano. In 2018 I was named chairperson of the Focus on the Story Festival in Washington, DC. My documentary work on the underground music scene in Washington, D.C., was published as a book, Suspect Device, by Empty Stretch in 2014 and is currently held in the Leica Galerie Archives. LOCATION Washington DC UNITED STATES CAMERA/S Leica M-P and Ricoh GR II WEBSITE http://www.chrissuspect.com/ @GRATUITY_INCLUDED @CHRIS_SUSPECT FEATURES // Old Customs Gratuity Included

I was born in Rome and graduated from the Art institute of Rome. As a child, I was interested in photography, instilled by my father who captured family memories with his video. When I was 20 I bought my first Reflex camera: I started experimenting with and also engaged to print my own photos. After a posting period of few years, my passion began to come out again with a new embracing power. I acquired a digital camera and attended photography class, trying to improve my technique and production. I studied lots of professional photographer for a better understanding and refinement of my style. I exhibited my first photographic work at the event "A bridge for photography" curated by “Officine Fotografiche” in Rome in 2018. I won the award as Best Portrait in the “Bajocco festival” in 2019. In 2020 I exhibited three projects “Between dream and reality”, “Peace, silence and reflections” and “You are strong” at the ART G.A.P. From Rome. In 2021 at the Coex event, a “festival of visual arts in Nemi”, I exhibited the photographic project “Differences Assonant”. In the last few years I have become interested in conceptual photography. In this project "Differences Assonant" I wanted to focus on the harmonious and elegant link between biological shapes and human body that similarity turn out sometimes from the shapes, sometimes from the shadows. The element that stimulate this inner vision is the association between the evocative nature of the human body and vegetation’s forms. These diptychs give the viewer a short escape from reality, small instants of surprise and fun, to let him/her reflect on the interaction between our World and Nature. Similarity between Nature and human body. ORNELLA LATROFA I was born in Rome and graduated from the Art institute of Rome. As a child, I was interested in photography, instilled by my father who captured family memories with his video. When I was 20 I bought my first Reflex camera: I started experimenting with and also engaged to print my own photos. After a posting period of few years, my passion began to come out again with a new embracing power. I acquired a digital camera and attended photography class, trying to improve my technique and production. I studied lots of professional photographer for a better understanding and refinement of my style. I exhibited my first photographic work at the event "A bridge for photography" curated by “Officine Fotografiche” in Rome in 2018. I won the award as Best Portrait in the “Bajocco festival” in 2019. In 2020 I exhibited three projects “Between dream and reality”, “Peace, silence and reflections” and “You are strong” at the ART G.A.P. From Rome. In 2021 at the Coex event, a “festival of visual arts in Nemi”, I exhibited the photographic project “Differences Assonant”. In the last few years I have become interested in conceptual photography. In this project "Differences Assonant" I wanted to focus on the harmonious and elegant link between biological shapes and human body that similarity turn out sometimes from the shapes, sometimes from the shadows. The element that stimulate this inner vision is the association between the evocative nature of the human body and vegetation’s forms. These diptychs give the viewer a short escape from reality, small instants of surprise and fun, to let him/her reflect on the interaction between our World and Nature. Similarity between Nature and human body. LOCATION Rome ITALY CAMERA/S Fujifilm XT-4 @ORNELLA_LATROFA FEATURES // Assonant Differences

PICTORIAL STORY DEBUTANTE June 12, 2020 PICTORIAL STORY Photography by Jo Kalinowski Story by Karin Svadlenak Gomez SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Jo Kalinowski is an Australian photographer, whose work is inspired by a connection between her British urban roots and her current life in rural Victoria. Over the past few years Jo has been exploring man-made and natural landscapes through minimalist style fine art photography, and more recently Jo has been working on social documentary photography projects. She has a knack for candidly capturing events and people in a documentary, but with her very personal style. I discovered Jo's beautifully tender photo reportage series about a Debutante Ball, and I interviewed her to find out more about the way this tradition is celebrated in Australia. Jo Kalinowski never thought of attending a Debutante ball, it just was not her thing. But when her daughter Alex ran into the house, telling her excitedly “Mum I have found a partner for the Debutante! What if I never get married? It may be my only white dress opportunity!”, a new photographic project idea was born. Jo decided to explore the Debutante journey by documenting her daughter's experience photographically. She wanted to capture and create images that Alex could keep for a lifetime: photographs that were elegant, flattering, and that celebrated her night. At the time, Jo was relatively new to documentary photography and did not have a specific plan how to go about it. “I chose to improvise, trusting my intuition that the images I shoot will connect to each other. But it was not until sometime later, looking back at the work, that I became inspired and was able to see that I captured a story I am compelled to share,” she says. THE ORIGINS OF 'COMING OUT' The tradition of Debutante balls originated with the way aristocratic or upper-class families have historically 'presented' young women (the 'debutante' - from French, literally the 'novice') to polite society, once they had reached 'maturity' for entering the marriage market at a formal 'debut' or a Debutante ball. This type of formal 'coming out' was a way of putting the young women on display for eligible bachelors in hopes of finding a suitable match for them within a select circle. In the United Kingdom girls from aristocratic or upper-class families used to be 'launched into society' at the age of 17 or 18 through a formal introduction to the monarch, making their debut at a royal ball, wearing strictly prescribed white gowns with gloves and veils, like brides. Queen Elizabeth II finally terminated the formal court presentations of debutantes in 1957. AN OLD TRADITION IN MODERN TIMES One would think that such an old-fashioned tradition as the Debutante ball has long been relegated to the annals of history, but it is actually still going strong, though in a modified format and with not quite the same meaning attached. After all, no reasonable parent would want to marry off their daughter at the age of 17 these days. In the United Kingdom, although the formal social season ended eventually, today there are still 'socialite' events being held in the early spring and summer. An extensive ball season is also on every winter in my home city, Vienna, and although it has nothing to do with 'introducing' girls to society, many young women enjoy the experience of opening a ball in a white gown, dancing a set of choreographed figures with their white-gloved partners for an audience of eager spectators. A variation on the tradition also exists in several Latin American countries. Young girls (quinceañeras) take part in a Festival de Debutantes, or a 'Quince Años' party upon their fifteenth birthday. Although societies have become more egalitarian, making such events more accessible, they can also still be quite elitist. In the United States, for example, an International Debutante Ball takes place every year, attended by girls from various countries, among them the daughters of presidents and of other wealthy families. The ball is considered the ultimate networking event, where the rich and powerful mingle. A more accessible version of the Debutante ball may be the high school prom (short for promenade), which really is more about dating and dancing than about an introduction to society. “I don’t think the girls look like brides at the American Style Prom! I think the two have a different meaning attached to them. The prom is more an end of year formal dance for high school students and seems much more casual,” Jo explains. Still, teenage girls attending a prom might end up becoming the 'queen' of the ball for a night. Australia, where Jo made her documentary, is better known for informal BBQ than for formal society events, but I was surprised to learn that it also still has Debutante balls, usually organized by high schools, church groups or service clubs, such as Lions or Rotary, for girls aged between 15 and 18. Like in the other countries where the tradition exists, the debs' floor length ball gowns are kept in virginal white, making the girls look like brides - although marriage is probably furthest from their mind that night. Jo's photographs offer the viewer an intimate look into a tradition that they may not have come into contact with before. She intends her images to trigger an emotion or feeling that the viewer can relate to and engage with. “Adolescence is a time when emotions run high and are felt so strongly, and I would hope that viewers can catch glimpses of that in this series.” Jo aims to create scenes around the concept she is investigating. Her images of the ball convey a special intimacy and often focus on details, because she feels a need to express ideas with a creative approach to getting at something deeper than our common notions of family photographs. “I like to shoot close; it gives me a deeper connection to what I want to capture, that sense of intimacy.” PREPARING FOR THE BIG DAY You may have seen Baz Luhrmann’s Australian 1992 movie classic Strictly Ballroom , which features a small ballroom dance school participating in dance competitions. (If you are not familiar with the film, I can recommend it.) Nevertheless, ballroom dancing is not a huge part of Australian culture. Rather it is a niche discipline, and it is only on certain occasions, for example for a Debutante ball, that most teenagers make the effort to learn ballroom dances. Preparations for the ball are taken almost as seriously as planning a wedding would be. To prepare for the ball, the debutantes line up their partners months in advance, and together they spend 12 weeks preparing for the ball. Dances are learned at the school. The Tango, Gypsy Tap, Cha Cha, Progressive Jive are just a few from the list of dances. “And let’s not forget the all important and numerous dress fittings,” Jo adds. The girls get to pick their own partner. Jo's daughter Alex successfully recruited the boy next door for it. The Debutante ball is less common these days, more often held in smaller country towns. Although it was created as a formal introduction for young women into society and may not retain the prestige of yesteryear, the debutantes are very invested in their role. MIXED FEELINGS Jo has mixed feelings about this type of event. “I have created images that celebrate this ball mainly because I was framing it through my daughter's desire to be part of this ongoing tradition. But I also recognise that there are complicated issues that can lie beneath the surface of an image or a series,” says Jo. For her there are concerns regarding privilege and exclusivity, as the Debutante is a very expensive exercise and not every teenage girl has the financial background to enable her to be part of it. “Also, I would imagine in the school social sphere that there are those girls who perhaps don’t even have the option of finding a suitable partner.” When she photographed the event, Jo felt as if she were observing a theatrical performance from behind the camera. “The event was fun, a real ball! Proud families and happy teenagers all playing their part in this mad charade.” © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski © Jo Kalinowski On further reflection it has really made Jo consider how we frame experiences. In this instance, although there was so much, she does not agree with regarding the tradition and the traditional roles the debutante concept assigns to young girls in Australian culture, Jo feels that her coverage of the event should be interpreted as a positive look at the joys of youth and the celebration that her daughter will hopefully remember fondly. “Because at the end of the night, it was her night.” view Jo's portfolio Read an interview with Jo >>> Website >>> Instagram >>> The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author/s, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team. read more stories >>> THE LIFE WITHIN THE MOUNTAIN Ten years after first seeing Larung Gar, Jing Wei returns to a changed mountain, finding continuity in faith, memory and the lives held within it. PROSCENIUM GHOSTS Said Manseur honors these young actors, their courage, and the unseen work they give to keep theatre alive against the odds. REGINA: BOARDING SCHOOL LIFE AND DREAMS A boarding school room becomes the frame for Cleopatra Joint’s portrait of ambition, instability, and a young woman’s search for freedom. LIFE ALONG THE RIVER Along the Hooghly, Shubhodeep Roy photographs Kolkata through faith, labour and memory, revealing a city shaped by water, inheritance and shared life. A HOME OF MEMORIES AND THE PRESENT Davide Santangelo returns to his family home by moonlight, tracing how absence, memory, and love continue to live within place, objects, and atmosphere after loss. THE PULL OF THE EARTH This is more than a record of rural Bengal. It looks at the bond between Sayan Biswas and the place that shaped him, even after distance has changed that relationship. ARE THOSE WINDS Along Istanbul’s northern edge, Ci Demi photographs the last water buffalo herders as they keep working, remembering, and staying put while the city closes in. COLORS OF HÜZÜN Through fragments and gestures, Pedro Vidal traces Istanbul as shared melancholy lingers in everyday life, the city unfolding slowly and refusing to settle into a single, definitive understanding. OUT OF PLAY An exploration of abandoned interiors in which Marco Lugli examines how objects, light, and space carry memory beyond human presence, establishing absence as a condition of material continuity rather than loss. REIMAGINING TALIESIN Form gives way to flux in Amy Newton-McConnel’s photographs, where architecture unfolds as a field of shifting relations and perception moves with light, geometry, and time. WHERE THE MUSIC BEGINS Before the strings, Jeevan Akash Jayavarthanan leaves the movement of the street for the rhythm of the workshop, where time holds, hands work, and each moment forms what will later be heard. LAND, LABOR, AND THE GOLDEN FIBER In West Bengal’s jute fields, Rajesh Dhar examines the systems of land and labor, tracing how a single material sustains communities and informs a changing ecological future. WITH GRATITUDE AND DEVOTION A quiet and intimate account of devotion in Zaraza, Venezuela, Rafael Ayala Páez reflects on faith, memory, and community through photographs and words that honor the enduring power of small gestures. SILVER AND BREATH Within this fragile space between looking and being seen, Eva Christina Nielsen has developed a practice that is both restrained and deeply attentive. RUPTURE REPAIR REMNANT In this reflection on rupture, Donna Bassin invites us to consider how grief settles into the body and the image, and how the slow work of witnessing becomes a form of repair. DELTA DUSK John Agather weaves image and text into a single current, tracing how music, memory, and daily life continue to move through the Mississippi Delta. SILENT BEAUTY Tamara Quadrelli photographs the world by slowing down inside it. There is no rush to explain what we are seeing. The pleasure comes from staying with it. SOLITUDE UNDER A TECHNIFIED SUN Tracing the space between movement and stillness, Héctor Morón reveals a city that persists as human presence slips by. 4320 MINUTES WITHOUT COLOR Moving between photography and narration, Mohammed Nahi traces a period in which sight could no longer be assumed as reliable, and attention shifted toward memory and duration. THE PAINTED VILLAGE OF LABANDHAR Anjan Ghosh’s photographs carry us to Labandhar, where painting becomes language, tradition stays present, and art grows through shared ground. ORDINARY GRIEF What endures when everything else is uncertain? Through photography, Parisa Azadi asks us to see Iran not as story, but as feeling. THE EVERYMAN Eva Mallis uncovers the quiet strength of overlooked lives, capturing everyday encounters in Mumbai’s industrial districts as intimate portraits of labor and resilience. IN BETWEEN LIFE AND AFTER In Cairo’s City of the Dead, families carve out ordinary lives among centuries of tombs — Paola Ferrarotti traces the fragile line between memory and survival. UNFIGURED Nasos Karabelas transforms the human body into a site of emotional flux — where perception fractures and inner states become visible form. VISIONS OF ICELAND FROM ABOVE Massimo Lupidi takes flight above Iceland — capturing nature’s abstract brushstrokes where land, water, and sky blur into poetic visions beyond the ordinary eye.

SUBCONSCIOUS PATTERNS Jake Dylan assesses objects in terms of tones and shapes allowing for the divorce of those objects from their figurative meanings. SUBCONSCIOUS PATTERNS September 2, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Jake Dylan INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE The art of photography is all about capturing the world around us – freezing a moment in time and preserving it for eternity. But for Jake Dylan, the American photographer from New York, it goes beyond the literal. His work is a study in conceptual abstraction, deliberately divorcing objects from their literal forms and placing them within an artistic framework. Through his thoughtful use of light, color and shape, Dylan’s photographs push the boundaries of art, transforming ordinary images into captivating works of art that explore the line between representation and abstraction. Join us as we take a closer look at this intriguing artist and his unique vision. “Subconscious patterns begin to take shape and reveal themselves over time, and when a pattern makes itself seen, I explore it more deeply.” IN CONVERSATION WITH JAKE DYLAN THE PICTORIAL LIST: Jake, can you please tell us when you started getting interested in photography? JAKE DYLAN: My grandfather was a photographer and an art dealer, so I more or less grew up with a camera in my hands. TPL: Has your style of photographing changed since you first started? JD: Yes. Style is a consequence, not a goal, so it is inherently ever-shifting. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists you would like to share with us? JD: Ray Metzker, El Lissitzky (his paintings more than his photographs), Aleksandr Rodchenko, Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan, Ralph Gibson, and Fred Sandback. TPL: Where is your favourite place to photograph? JD: The street. The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. - Michelangelo. TPL: Have you ever been involved in the artistic world before photography? JD: Although I did grow up with photography, I wanted to pursue acting for most of my teens. There came a point in time when I realised that I had far more questions about photography than acting, however, and a much stronger drive to explore those questions rather than any I had in regards to acting. TPL: How does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? What would you say to someone wanting to start out in your genre of photography? JD: What matters more is what you point the camera at rather than what you are pointing with. That being said, it is important to understand and explore a variety of equipment in order to know what best suits the subject that is being pointed at. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on? JD: I am continuously exploring the line between representation and abstraction in photographs, and that exploration shows up in various forms. TPL: “When I am not out photographing, I (like to)... JD: Probably something creative, maybe acting, maybe something to do with fashion. Or I would go a different route altogether and make a life out of activism for environmental protection and/or animal rights.” PORTFOLIO read more interviews >>> CONTOURS OF ABSENCE Where concealment unsettles recognition and ordinary spaces turn psychological, the photographs of Serhii Fett suspend identity between presence and absence. THE ART OF ATTENTION Curiosity turns portraits, objects, and places into discoveries as Len Irish reflects on a life shaped by the camera’s attention. WHERE EMOTIONS BREATHE Simple encounters Irina Sedletskaya almost missed become photographs shaped by silence, distance, uncertainty, memory, hope, and resilience. THE VILLAGE A workers’ neighbourhood becomes a living archive as Virginia Cassano photographs the people, streets, and memories that continue to shape Villaggio Piaggio. MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details.

I prefer images which are able to transfer emotions.​ I'm looking always for a shot with an 'interference' between the lens and main subject to give the best alchemy to the shot. I define myself like an enthusiast improviser. 2011 VOGUE fotografo non professionale - unprofessional photographer 2012 CORRIERE DELLA SERA vincitore contest “FOTOGRAFA LA TUA CITTA’” - contest's winner 2013 VOGUE & PHOTOLUX esibizione c/o photovogue a Lucca - exibition 2014 LARK CRAFT BOOKS contributo fotografico (LIBRO FOTOGRAFICO) - photographic contribution 2015 REGIONE LOMBARDIA contributo fotografico - photographic contribution 2015 NOVECENTO EDITORE immagine per copertina libro - cover book 2016 ARBITER contributo fotografico - photographic contribution 2017 INSTAGRAM vincitore contest con premio stampa (SALAD PRINT) - contest's winner 2018 CORRIERE DELLA SERA contributo fotografico (LANCIO NUOVO VIVIMILANO) . photographic contribution 2019 COMUNE DI MILANO contributo fotografico - photographic contribution LUCA STRIPPOLI I prefer images which are able to transfer emotions. I'm looking always for a shot with an 'interference' between the lens and main subject to give the best alchemy to the shot. I define myself like an enthusiast improviser. 2011 VOGUE fotografo non professionale - unprofessional photographer 2012 CORRIERE DELLA SERA vincitore contest “FOTOGRAFA LA TUA CITTA’” - contest's winner 2013 VOGUE & PHOTOLUX esibizione c/o photovogue a Lucca - exibition 2014 LARK CRAFT BOOKS contributo fotografico (LIBRO FOTOGRAFICO) - photographic contribution 2015 REGIONE LOMBARDIA contributo fotografico - photographic contribution 2015 NOVECENTO EDITORE immagine per copertina libro - cover book 2016 ARBITER contributo fotografico - photographic contribution 2017 INSTAGRAM vincitore contest con premio stampa (SALAD PRINT) - contest's winner 2018 CORRIERE DELLA SERA contributo fotografico (LANCIO NUOVO VIVIMILANO) . photographic contribution 2019 COMUNE DI MILANO contributo fotografico - photographic contribution LOCATION Milan ITALY CAMERA/S Canon EOS1000d WEBSITE http://www.lucastrippoli.wixsite.com/photography @LUCA.STRIPPOLI FEATURES // My Visual Diary

PICTORIAL STORY REGINA: BOARDING SCHOOL LIFE AND DREAMS A boarding school room becomes the frame for Cleopatra Joint’s portrait of ambition, instability, and a young woman’s search for freedom. July 26, 2026 PICTORIAL STORY PHOTOGRAPHY Cleopatra Joint TEXT Melanie Meggs SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Visual artist Cleopatra Joint begins with the facts of a room: a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a window, a few square metres. A temporary space in a boarding school in Bari becomes the setting for a young woman caught between study, modeling, love, uncertainty, and the wish to become someone closer to herself. The young woman, Regina, left Rome years ago and now lives in Bari, dreaming of leaving university behind to make modeling her career. The room she inhabits is meant to function as home, though it remains provisional. It is too small, too temporary, too marked by transition. Cleopatra photographs this condition without overstating it. She stays with the ordinary facts of Regina’s afternoon and allows the emotional weight of the situation to surface slowly. Born in Bari in 1996, where she continues to live and work, Cleopatra has developed a visual practice that moves between reality and a more dreamlike sensibility. Her work often turns toward emotional and relational dynamics, asking how people reveal themselves through rooms, gestures, silence, and the fragile structures of daily life. She is represented by YAH Factory gallery and has exhibited in Bari, Milan, and Paris, including Paris Photo OFF and One Shot in Milan. In 2025, she presented her first solo exhibition in Milan and was among the winners at the Bari Puglia International Film Festival. In 2026, she was selected by Comò to exhibit as part of Fotografia Europea at Atelier Due Gobbi. For Cleopatra, photography began with loss. As a child, she hated being photographed. She felt the camera as something invasive, especially at birthdays and gatherings where the image seemed to arrive from outside her own control. At eleven, something changed. “It was an unconscious awareness that I needed to stop time in order to preserve something precious. At that age, I found my first close group of friends, and that was a great source of happiness for me. One summer afternoon, I felt an urge to capture an image of two of my friends playing on a merry-go-round. I took that photograph with my first mobile phone, and at the time, being so young, I had no understanding of digital storage or archiving. When that phone eventually stopped working, I lost a cherished memory in a very tangible way. Yet I still remember the photograph perfectly.” That early loss continues to echo through Cleopatra’s practice. Photography became a way to hold what might vanish, but also a way to understand why certain moments remain so forcefully in the mind. Her images are not concerned with fixing life neatly. They work closer to the instability of memory, identity, and relation. The photograph becomes a place where something private can be brought into form without being entirely explained. Her relationship with Bari is central to this way of seeing. Cleopatra describes the city through contradiction, saying she is not sure whether she loves it or hates it. “What has certainly weighed on me is the sense of emptiness and boredom that often characterises life in Southern Italy: growing up in a working-class neighbourhood, having to scrape together money, pooling what little we had just to buy food, numbing ourselves so we wouldn’t have to think, those familiar experiences of many young people from provincial towns.” She quotes the Italian rapper Marracash: “You steal our time, the only thing we have.” In Cleopatra’s work, this line does not sit as a cultural reference alone. It becomes a way to understand how time, in certain environments, can be both the only possession and the first thing taken. Bari is not simply the city where she works. It has shaped her sense of limitation, desire, and the emotional life of those trying to move beyond what was handed to them. This understanding sits quietly inside this project. Regina’s dream is not treated as fantasy. It is shown as something that must exist alongside rent, study, uncertainty, and the practical demands of survival. Cleopatra sees her as courageous because she has accepted instability in order to pursue a life that feels more honest. “Very few people are willing to accept an unstable or precarious life in pursuit of their dreams. Many of us become trapped by the logic of the capitalist system, and I don’t deny that, in the kind of society we live in, money is undeniably necessary. But life cannot be reduced to that alone.” This sentence gives the project its tension. Regina is not simply waiting for life to begin. She is already inside the cost of wanting something different. Her dream of becoming a model is set against the reality of being at the beginning of that path, before recognition, before security, before certainty. Cleopatra does not make this conflict sentimental. She lets it remain unresolved. They had met through Instagram, when Cleopatra was searching for new faces interested in sharing their stories. “One afternoon, I simply asked if I could photograph her in her boarding school room — a tiny space that had somehow captivated me. She agreed, and the following day I documented her everyday life in what is supposed to be her home, but never quite feels like one, precisely because it is a boarding school room. I spent the day talking with her while taking photographs. We listened to music and shared a few joints. Nothing more. The work emerged naturally from that time together and, above all, from the trust she placed in me.” That trust matters because the photographs are built through proximity rather than performance. Regina does not appear as a character created for the camera. She appears as someone allowing another person close enough to witness a private threshold. Cleopatra describes the entire project as “spontaneous observation,” guided by empathy and instinct. “Nothing was constructed,” she says. Cleopatra was drawn to Regina’s sensitivity, her quietness, and the fact that she spoke very little about herself. This silence became part of the project’s structure. Where Cleopatra often describes her own inner world with precision, Regina seemed to carry hers in a different way. “I often meet people who struggle to express who they are, and that fascinates me because I’m the opposite. I tend to describe my inner world with almost surgical precision. I believe that true isolation often lies in not allowing yourself the possibility of expressing yourself to others. Perhaps, in some way, what I’m trying to do through my work is to help bring that isolation to an end.” The room reflects the condition of someone living between where she has come from and where she hopes to go. Its walls hold a private conflict: the desire for freedom pressed against the reality of a life still being assembled. The project’s visual movement follows that conflict. Some images feel enclosed, drawing us into the weight of the room. Others suggest air, light, and the possibility of movement beyond it. Cleopatra’s use of black and white and colour is deliberate. “I believe that black and white helps one enter a more introspective territory, but at a certain point I wanted there to be a sense of hope. Something that pushes us to keep fighting in such a complex world. For this reason, I introduced colour into the work. Initially, I used only the natural light coming from the window. Later, I added a LED light to create a more intimate and nocturnal atmosphere, because I associate warm light with our most private moments of solitude, especially at night.” This movement between inwardness and hope is also tied to Cleopatra’s wider visual language. She began to recognise this language through lucid dreams, which she translated into photography while holding onto a neorealist approach. Italian cinema from the mid-twentieth century onward has shaped this sensibility. Her images are not an escape. They allow the inner life to sit beside the visible world. As Cleopatra says, “photographing is a way of processing my life. It is the only healthy method I know that truly allows me to understand myself and make sense of what happens to me.” In Regina’s room, this language finds a precise subject. The boarding school space is factual, but it also holds the psychological pressure of transition. The photographs do not separate the visible from the internal. They allow one to press against the other. Regina’s body, the bed, the window, the evening light, and the limits of the room all become part of the same question: how does a person continue to dream while living inside conditions that make dreaming difficult? This gives the project its broader social force, and is not only about a young woman in a room. It is about the pressure placed on young people to appear certain while living through instability. Cleopatra speaks directly about this pressure. “We all pretend a little too much. We construct these online lives, carefully controlled, where we present ourselves as winners, but once we are behind the walls of our homes, we know the truth is different. We all have problems, but we are ashamed of them.” For women, Cleopatra sees this struggle as even more obstructed. She speaks of a society shaped by sexism, where the path toward a career can become “a nightmare made of resistance.” Within this context, Regina’s dream of modelling carries complexity. To become visible is also to become vulnerable to judgement. Cleopatra’s photographs understand that tension. They do not confine Regina into beauty, ambition, or fragility. They hold these things together, because that is how they exist in life. The title, Boarding School Life and Dreams , carries this double position. There is the daily fact of the room, and there is the dream pressing beyond it. Regina has joined a modelling agency in Puglia and is beginning to build that path. Cleopatra believes in her, but she also understands that belief alone does not remove fear. Dreams require foundations. They require time, discipline, money, and the ability to endure uncertainty without being destroyed by it. © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) © Cleopatra Joint, Regina (2025) In Regina: Boarding School Life and Dreams , Cleopatra Joint gives serious attention to a life in the middle of becoming. The project does not ask Regina to arrive at a conclusion. It stays with the moment before arrival, where desire is still forming and the future remains unresolved. Its strength lies in its refusal to overstate what it knows. The room is small, but Cleopatra allows it to hold the size of Regina’s uncertainty, and the full weight of her dream. view Cleopatra's portfolio website Cleopatra's instagram Regina's instagram The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author/s and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List. read more stories >>> THE LIFE WITHIN THE MOUNTAIN Ten years after first seeing Larung Gar, Jing Wei returns to a changed mountain, finding continuity in faith, memory and the lives held within it. PROSCENIUM GHOSTS Said Manseur honors these young actors, their courage, and the unseen work they give to keep theatre alive against the odds. REGINA: BOARDING SCHOOL LIFE AND DREAMS A boarding school room becomes the frame for Cleopatra Joint’s portrait of ambition, instability, and a young woman’s search for freedom. LIFE ALONG THE RIVER Along the Hooghly, Shubhodeep Roy photographs Kolkata through faith, labour and memory, revealing a city shaped by water, inheritance and shared life. A HOME OF MEMORIES AND THE PRESENT Davide Santangelo returns to his family home by moonlight, tracing how absence, memory, and love continue to live within place, objects, and atmosphere after loss. THE PULL OF THE EARTH This is more than a record of rural Bengal. It looks at the bond between Sayan Biswas and the place that shaped him, even after distance has changed that relationship. ARE THOSE WINDS Along Istanbul’s northern edge, Ci Demi photographs the last water buffalo herders as they keep working, remembering, and staying put while the city closes in. COLORS OF HÜZÜN Through fragments and gestures, Pedro Vidal traces Istanbul as shared melancholy lingers in everyday life, the city unfolding slowly and refusing to settle into a single, definitive understanding. OUT OF PLAY An exploration of abandoned interiors in which Marco Lugli examines how objects, light, and space carry memory beyond human presence, establishing absence as a condition of material continuity rather than loss. REIMAGINING TALIESIN Form gives way to flux in Amy Newton-McConnel’s photographs, where architecture unfolds as a field of shifting relations and perception moves with light, geometry, and time. WHERE THE MUSIC BEGINS Before the strings, Jeevan Akash Jayavarthanan leaves the movement of the street for the rhythm of the workshop, where time holds, hands work, and each moment forms what will later be heard. LAND, LABOR, AND THE GOLDEN FIBER In West Bengal’s jute fields, Rajesh Dhar examines the systems of land and labor, tracing how a single material sustains communities and informs a changing ecological future. WITH GRATITUDE AND DEVOTION A quiet and intimate account of devotion in Zaraza, Venezuela, Rafael Ayala Páez reflects on faith, memory, and community through photographs and words that honor the enduring power of small gestures. SILVER AND BREATH Within this fragile space between looking and being seen, Eva Christina Nielsen has developed a practice that is both restrained and deeply attentive. RUPTURE REPAIR REMNANT In this reflection on rupture, Donna Bassin invites us to consider how grief settles into the body and the image, and how the slow work of witnessing becomes a form of repair. DELTA DUSK John Agather weaves image and text into a single current, tracing how music, memory, and daily life continue to move through the Mississippi Delta. SILENT BEAUTY Tamara Quadrelli photographs the world by slowing down inside it. There is no rush to explain what we are seeing. The pleasure comes from staying with it. SOLITUDE UNDER A TECHNIFIED SUN Tracing the space between movement and stillness, Héctor Morón reveals a city that persists as human presence slips by. 4320 MINUTES WITHOUT COLOR Moving between photography and narration, Mohammed Nahi traces a period in which sight could no longer be assumed as reliable, and attention shifted toward memory and duration. THE PAINTED VILLAGE OF LABANDHAR Anjan Ghosh’s photographs carry us to Labandhar, where painting becomes language, tradition stays present, and art grows through shared ground. ORDINARY GRIEF What endures when everything else is uncertain? Through photography, Parisa Azadi asks us to see Iran not as story, but as feeling. THE EVERYMAN Eva Mallis uncovers the quiet strength of overlooked lives, capturing everyday encounters in Mumbai’s industrial districts as intimate portraits of labor and resilience. IN BETWEEN LIFE AND AFTER In Cairo’s City of the Dead, families carve out ordinary lives among centuries of tombs — Paola Ferrarotti traces the fragile line between memory and survival. UNFIGURED Nasos Karabelas transforms the human body into a site of emotional flux — where perception fractures and inner states become visible form. VISIONS OF ICELAND FROM ABOVE Massimo Lupidi takes flight above Iceland — capturing nature’s abstract brushstrokes where land, water, and sky blur into poetic visions beyond the ordinary eye.