NICOLA NUNZIATA
The Eighteens
The Eighteens document a particular use of photography in the hinterland of Naples (Italy). On 18th birthday of his daughter, families organize lavish ceremonies and big dance parties, calling for the girl make-up artists and photographers.
This phenomenon is very marked in agricultural hinterland areas where families are not so rich. The ceremony marks a transition to adulthood, the photographer remains alone with the girl trying to build together with her glamorous image. A clumsy fashion of themselves, an home-made glamour created from their personal imaginary.
Photos are taken in their own homes and bedrooms or in the cozy restaurants booked for the party. I reproduced these photographs by photographing the shop windows of photo studios where the images are displayed as some kind of portfolio.
Photographers visual references, trying to build images that awkwardly mimic those of glossy magazines, the interiors and the details at the periphery of the image, that are beyond his control and recorded in the images, are isolated and reproposed to build a social portrait and to suggest a reflection on the cultural value of photography.
The eighteens is an ongoing archive.
Nicola Nunziata is a visual artist working with different media including video, sound, photography, actions, installations and printed matters. Focusing on political, social and cultural issues, his projects explores topics of identity, representation of reality, culture transmission, relations and language. He play an active role in Italian non profit art scene since 2008 as founder of Sottobosco, a non profit organization based in Venice.