Francesca. O
Pond. Astra
We take a deep plunge into the lives of these two characters, a male and a female who get to travel through feelings, emotions, and memories long-lived, all covered in a cover cloth of regrets, back and-forth blaming and what, each of them, could have done better. The search for approval presents itself as one of the main characters of these written stories as, through the voice of the One, we get to have a better glimpse into that...aspect of life, and also how it affected the two of them in the course of time.
For those who know, saying the whole thing, or giving the whole package to the reader or viewer isn’t truly my approach, at least in what I do, at least in this field. The stories that I write are different from each other but, at the same time, they are not, as they’re one unique story. They are all based on a set of musiques and period ( for example this one goes from 1988 to 2000 and onwards), why? As someone who pretty much works with Analogue photography, Storytelling and Video (with a bit of sculpture and ceramics here and there, and fashion apparently) I truly felt as if, in this period specifically, Film Photography would have easily flourished. (not stating that it wouldn't now but..., Vintage speaks volumes).
I like clues, not for the sake of crafting any sort of riddle, although it can sometimes look like that(I have to admit) but to make the reader remember, or at least connect the dots. “Thinking” is one of the elements that is dear to me as, not only the person is free to relate to the story in any way he or she wants, but also to think through it, understand it through their feelings and feel it. Some clues come as a word, a short phrase, dates, a number (which has been happening quite often now), and those clues are like a bridge to a future thing or a recurrent reference to the past. Pretty much a story that might not necessarily have an ending
As I’ve presented earlier, the story is based on a timeline that goes from 1988 to 2000 and onwards and it all revolves around the colour “Indigo”. Compared to the previous piece I did, which was based on the darker side of this colour, this one is set to have a brighter tone, as, although we still sense a taste of “Malinconia” this piece is very much a representation of the good…memories these two people had the chance of sharing, where this whole story is perceived as romantic or so. The story is a sequel to last year’s book publication and final video piece of year three and it, not only represents some sort of a brighter side of the story but also a “heavier continuation” of the stories that were set in the Motel room for last year’s book publication. Each photograph was taken through the usage of the Mamiya C330 (camera) and the Kodak Gold 200 (120mm film), switched with the Nikon 35mm camera and the Harman Phoenix 200 (35mm film). The video piece was meant to be Super 8 footage, which I’ve been longing to do for 5 years now but, due to some technical issues…I was faced with working with digital, although the texture is analogue. With the video piece, I’ve created a soundtrack composed of a piano play, a voice-over and an old cassette scratch kind of sound (in reference to the Sound Workshop we did) all piled together to create the feeling of a recorder voice message, left on the bedside table one Friday evening. The video will be projected, Mad Mapped, onto a wooden board painted white. The board will be suspended and with it, 4 Lith prints mounted and frames, are going to be displayed.
Artist Statement
I’m in fourth year but still can’t fully clap my hand yet, can’t cheer if not for seeing other people's huge jump by the way. Sometimes it’s stable ground, other times it’s all about shakes and water bites around the space. But there's a space, a room to be precise, in which there’s a camera and, whenever I look at it, I simply cannot overlook how…far…have I come not only in college but, let's talk about this project I’ve been working on lately. Stories, however, they get to be told, have always been one of my main interests, if not one of the main reasons why I’ve chosen to enrol in Photography and Moving Image. Telling stories works differently from person to person and, in my case, I get to do that through what I hear and what see, which also brings to a certain playlist of music that I could end up listening to for some time, which would then set the mood for the whole thing to be created. So, it is safe to say that music is another big element of the stories I end up writing, as well as the time as sometimes, for example, I find myself coming up with something at 3 AM, although I usually do write in the morning and late evenings.
“Creating fictional narratives about the lives of others I may say”. The inspiration for these narratives comes from what I see around me, sometimes from the streets, friends and family, or it could be a simple phrase I hear. Then I spend my time looking for a location where I can put the narrative, so I end up exploring different sites and sometimes it's a colour, a smell or number that allows me to express the emotions in the story.
Biography
Francesca is an Italian, born in Padova to Nigerian parents, Photographer, Writer, Scriptwriter and Videographer who, apart from digital, mainly works with analogue photography. Her first ever written draft was a Fantasy themes story when she was eleven years old and, since then, her passion for storytelling grew stronger, until she stepped into the now-called T and, thanks to the space in which she found herself, and the tutors that she had, the nods and tights between Photography, Video and storytelling became tighter and more meaningful to her and her practice. From her first year till now, she had never entirely broken the bridge with Ceramics and Sculpture as those two, alongside Photography and Moving images as the main choice, were the three main electives that she had and thoroughly enjoyed doing, and still doing, as somehow, they still pop out, although is not openly stated by her. Music is another characteristic of what she does, as this element is pretty much one of the footstools that build each story she writes.
Previous Exhibitions
December, 2023 - Dublin Art Book Fair 2023: Polyphonic, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Dublin, Ireland, Group Exhibition
April, 2023 - A Furtherance of their own Desires, Sailor’s Home Third Year Exhibition, Limerick City, Ireland, Group Exhibition