MAROC mon amour
Morocco is full of highly intense and expressive elements: colour is
saturated and dazzling; light reveals and is warm; and shadow is the
invisible and the projected. Shadows and lights are in a mutual
dialogue. Often the shadows that envelop or are about to
envelop the depicted characters acquire a symbolic strength.
These shadows embed what remains private of the local
people, the reality that there are vast limits to the
gaze of the stranger. Above all, they enclose an
unknown force; a mysterious condition... In
some photos, the light takes over this
force, and prevails as a mystical and
symbolic presence. In others, the light
reveals beautiful urban details and
life scenes; and turns on incredible
vivid colours.
Fez فاس
Shadows and lights infuse the daily routine of the Moroccan people, who live in the medina, the old town, under a sun that shines high and mighty over the horizon and over the sharp architecture. Shadows give shelter and somehow project everywhere: downward, upward, leftward, rightward, and to the centre, even in playful graphical shapes. Sometimes local architecture and natural elements reflect in shadows cast on walls, almost reminiscent of the photographic process itself.
We see that some inhabitants of the medinas become aware of the camera, and they hide or look suspiciously into it. Giancarlo and Federica are surrendered to the shy nature of the locals and found a way to let the beauty and meaning of their lives emerge without imposing himself. Also cats and dogs lives are
honoured in this selection, as they must be popular
denizens of the medinas.
Meknes مكناس
My favourite photo depicts a family looking at a stray dog that, relaxed, basks in the sun in a sphinx pose. There is a moving calm in this act of contemplation: paying attention to the dog and at the same time dwelling on the details of life and environment, without haste and with a careful eye. When does it happen to us to stop on the street and admire a stranger dog for a prolonged time? But perhaps this act of contemplation lasted just a few second. Yet what transpires from Giancarlo
and Federica’s Morocco is a sense of suspended time, of a
calm and serene condition where man lives with the
rhythm of nature and is still able to be still.
ANNA DABROWSKA