We intercept Enrico Costantini in one of the few breaks between trips, when the photographer, a “nomad” as he calls himself, recharges his batteries before returning to observe the world from his point of view, which like photography is truth and fiction. Travel and photography for Enrico Costantini are tools through which we can be part of something that does not belong to us but that we can make our own for an instant.
Curious to understand how his relationship with the camera comes about and to discover some secrets with respect to his many travels over the years, Collater.al had a chat with Enrico.

How did you get into photography?
Actually it was accidental! I went to an art school in Venice and then continued my studies in Rome where I majored in interior design. I got into the world of fashion and then from there into photography. I bought my first SLR camera when I was 20 years old and started experimenting. I have always had a strong connection with the value of “memory,” and from there perhaps comes my collecting nature. Sometimes one takes photographs out of fear of forgetting or fear of being forgotten. Now I experience photography as a chance to tell without having to use too many words, sometimes through a photo one can steal a moment of someone else’s life and make it one’s own, leaving instead something of our own, of one’s own experience.

With your photographs you take us to faraway places like Socotra, Cuba, Oman, the Philippines and many others. What stories are you looking for? What stories do you want to tell?
Before embarking on a new journey, you never really know what’s coming. I like to reach remote and unspoiled destinations. Perhaps what I really go in search of is authenticity. Similarly, I love architecture and design, so any destination that includes at least one of these components becomes a source of stimulation and research for me.

It goes without saying that while traveling you have very different equipment at your disposal from what that a studio photographer has. What, in your opinion, is the equipment needed for this type of photography?
Personally, as a photographer, I use only natural light. I love natural light and capturing its many and varied nuances. Each moment is never similar to its previous one. That said, I usually travel rather lightly if you can call it that. However, I like to carry several cameras with me. I would say that in this case there is no real need but certainly do not underestimate to equip yourself with multiple batteries and sufficient memory, admittedly in certain travel conditions it helps a lot to save precious time.

Is there a shot you are particularly fond of? Tell us about it.
I don’t think there is one particular shot that I am fond of. Probably in general to all the
shots related to my first reportage trip to Asia. A trip that lasted 4 months from New Delhi to Hong Kong passing 7 states, over 10,000 km on the road. It was my first overseas trip, I was 23 years old, and it was my first real experience where I found myself reporting on the people the places the situations I encountered on my way. It gave me a lot. These are shots that although very simple and of not so good technical achievement, every time I see them again, they arouse something very deep in me.

Gian Paolo Barbieri is one of the giants of fashion on film, a member of a group of photographers who have been able to depict the world of models, fashion shows and product by going beyond any superficial narrative.
An exhibition by the great master of photography Gian Paolo Barbieri opens in Milan today, Nov. 29, and at the 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery at 13 Via San Vittore, Milan, he will present a series of never-before-seen, full-color works.

© Gian Paolo Barbieri – Laura Alvarez, Venezuela, 1976 – Courtesy of Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri : 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery – © Copyright Gian Paolo Barbieri/ Courtesy of Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri / 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery

The title of the exhibition is ‘Gian Paolo Barbieri: Unconventional,‘ and it is indeed unconventional how the artist has approached photography and fashion, reworked based on the many experiences and celebrities with whom he has woven relationships and direct contacts.
In the shots of Barbieri, known mainly for his black and white production, provocation and history chase each other, taking up poses from art history, citations to design and architecture, a symbolism that is connoted by an ultra-personal and authentic vision. The new elegance and eroticism that Barbieri has been able to represent in his career can be seen at the 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery, in an exhibition that comes a few days after the cinema release of “L’uomo e la bellezza,” the first docufilm on Gian Paolo Barbieri and already awarded at the Biografilm Festival 2022 in Bologna.

What happens to society if suddenly the status quo changes? Swedish director Ruben Östlund‘s answer is called Triangle of Sadness. 

Triangle of Sadness was presented during the 75th Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Palme d’Or for best film. Since then its success has crossed all borders. From Sweden to France, from France to the world, abetted by a trailer that in just a few seconds already manages to capture the viewer’s attention and catapult them into this critique of modern society watered by champagne and vomit. 

Carl and Yaya are two models who decide to take a luxury cruise. During the vacation they get to know the other passengers, without ever really relating to them, until at one point the ship sinks and the survivors find themselves on a deserted island. It is at this point that a role reversal begins, and those who were previously at the top of the social pyramid now find themselves having to work for the only people who really know how they can survive in that circumstance. Some will be able to forget the luxury and adapt to the new status quo, others less so, but the more days go by the more the transformation from human to beast takes place. 

Ruben Östlund, however, decides not to take sides and leaves it up to the viewer to decide whether this process of decivilization will be finished or whether there is still hope in human consciousness. 

In sharp contrast to the brutality and cynicism of the plot we find a clean and elegant aesthetic, also the child of the work of Fredrik Wenzel, a Swedish cinematographer who also collaborated with Luca Guadagnino on the miniseries We Are Who We Are. Thus, the more critical the situation becomes the more beautiful the image becomes, mesmerizing the viewer. 

One piece of advice, however, I will leave you with: watching Triangle of Sadness after dinner may not be the best idea. 

If you are tired of glossy photography and if you are passing through Turin, then you cannot miss Ivan Cazzola‘s exhibition, hosted in the spaces of Galleria Noire until January 2023. An eclectic artist who moves between different expressive forms linked to the image, from video clips to documentaries, passing through commercial and artistic photography, Ivan brings to the exhibition a production of shots taken between Milan and Southern France. He moves between the meshes of unspoilt nature and uniform backgrounds of unspecified and recognisable origin, which allow the photographer to bring out bodies and faces through a powerful use of flash.
The deep shadows that are created evoke an underground world in which the sense of imperfection, that murky boundary between the socially desired and the true essence that hides in the indeterminacy of those who do not yet feel part of the social fabric, is the dominant feature.

A photographer of artists, actors and rock groups, Cazzola enjoys undressing the subject portrayed (metaphorically and otherwise), bringing out its naked truth, without frills or staging. His investigation, often desecrating, allows the models to move freely and lightly in space, without prejudice and clichés, since he is not inspired by beauty, but by the search for detail and anomaly.
A hymn to unconventional beauty, played with skilful awareness at the cost of appearing desecrating and disturbing to eyes accustomed to photographic perfection. There is an echo of Juergen Teller and Wolfgang Tillmans in these shots in which the same ability to combine the provocation and crudeness of high photography with the exaltation of the defenceless nature of man, in all its disarming truth, echoes.

The layout of the exhibition, conceived and supervised by exhibit designer Andrea Isola, transforms the luminous white space into a space in which the large prints, made on different materials according to the projects presented, welcome and disconcert the visitor, enveloping him and inviting him to “cross” Ivan’s visual suggestions, to step on his images, thus generating an experience that is not only visual, but experiential, in which the photos establish a two-way dialogue with the space.
Completing the offerings of Galleria Noire, on the ground floor is the exhibition of American artist Cali Dewitt who, in continuity with Ivan Cazzola’s multifaceted spirit and investigation focused on the hardcore and underground universe, presents a site-specific project that reflects a very real apocalyptic mood in today’s world, a world that increasingly resembles his dystopian collages.