About three years ago, in 2017, the photographer François Prost presented a fascinating and surprising photographic project. Titled “Paris Syndrome” – inspired by the Paris syndrome, a psychosomatic pathology that mainly affects Japanese tourists visiting the French city and manifests itself as a discomfort derived from the difference between the idealized vision of the place and its real appearance – the photographic series compared famous places in the French capital with views of Tianducheng, a Chinese city known precisely because it reproduces all the architecture and monuments of Paris. While we’re waiting for the book “Paris China“, out in September and published by Hoxton Mini Press, Francois Prost hasn’t stood still and, a few months ago, presented a very similar project, but this time the protagonist is Venice. 

Entitled “Venice Syndrome“, this new project does not compare the Italian location with another city, but with two different places. So, if on the right we have the photos taken in Venice, from Rialto to San Marco, on the left there are some shots taken in a suburb of Hangzhou and other products in Las Vegas.

The peculiarity of the project is that, although the photographs are really very similar, François invites us to focus more than on the common elements, on the different aspects, which obviously derive from the fact that the three places have a different history and culture. Although the architecture and reproductions of the monuments are studied in detail, Venice remains one of the most visited cities in the world, with a centuries-old history of cultural, artistic and political contamination; Hangzhou is a quiet residential district; the reproduction of Las Vegas is a tourist attraction located between skyscrapers and casinos. 

We have selected some photographs from “Venice Syndrome”, but to find out all of them go to François Prost’s website. 

Originally from Cologne, André Josselin approached photography for the first time in his twenties, beginning to shoot with a camera received as a gift, which quickly became an indispensable accessory to face the days and new adventures.

Experimenting as a self-taught photographer, André Josselin began by taking pictures of his friends, the places he lives and visits, becoming a leading name in the worl and establishing partnerships with clients such as adidas, Mercedes Benz, Canon, Leica and Nike. 

We can say that it is thanks to the latter that André’s first big step in the world of professional photography took place, a collaboration that from the streets of his city led him to photograph some of the best and most important footballers in the world during the 2015 Champions League final. 

Over the years, his love for football and sport in general has never left him, but at the same time André Josselin has specialised in portraits and landscape photography. On the one hand, we have the faces of dozens of models who capture us with their glances. Immortalized in different parts of the world, from Los Angeles to Paris, their eyes, their poses, their gestures could not be more perfect and unique. 

Then, at other times, André takes us on a discovery of big cities or desolate places, from Asia to America, and his goal seems to transform every landscape into a masterpiece.

It almost seems as if we can perceive the delicacy of André Josselin, the attention he puts into creating the perfect shot each time, and as we scroll through his site and his Instagram profile we breathe that sense of freedom that we rarely find in our daily lives. 

It was 2018, a year after its release, when Blade Runner 2049 was consecrated as one of the most complex film in the creative and aesthetic field with an Oscar for cinematography by director Roger Deakins.

Inspired by a novel by Philip Dick, he made his first film debut in 1982 with the adaptation of Ridley Scott, whose story was set in a distant future, now our past (2019), of a rainy, nocturnal Los Angeles.

Scott himself feared the idea of a sequel, so much so that he postponed the proposal for decades, until he entrusted the direction to the Canadian artist Denise Villenueve, back from a science fiction masterpiece entitled “Arrival”.

The intention to deviate from the first film in terms of setting, references, colours, avoided being subjected to the weight of a comparison and being remembered only as a sequel. For this reason Villenueve and Deakins worked together from the beginning with the storyboard designers, thinking about the whole construction, the setting and above all the role that rain, a recurring element of the Cyberpunk genre, which they decided to replace with snow: if in the first movie there was a “cold” atmosphere, in this one we will surely feel “icy”.

The shots, developed on horizontal planes at the limits of perfection, are accompanied by a selection of colors that allows us to distinguish one scene from another: it is a matter of matching colors, in this case orange and blue “tea”, to different scenes to emphasize the visual experience by telling two completely separate realities. The first characterizes a perfect world in contact with a “miracle”, while the blue is part of a hopeless and dehumanized world.

As for the setting, the source that inspired the pre-production of the film was Beijing’s architecture flooded with smog and artificial light, the same characteristics that bring us back to Cody Ellingham‘s photographic work. His images are perfect compositions that convey an almost surreal sharpness, emphasized by the distinctive character of cities like Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Did you know: David Bowie was Director Denis Villeneuve‘s first choice for the role of Niander Wallace, but he died before the start of shooting.

Genre: Action
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Director of Photography: Roger Deakins
Writers: Hampton Fancher, Michael Green
Stars: Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas

If you are a young photography enthusiast then the initiative of Condominio, a co-sharing space dedicated to the promotion of photography, is for you. 

In fact, Condominio presented Italia 90, a real open call addressed to all young photographers under 30. The name of the project undoubtedly refers to the world championship of ’90, but it is also a reference to the age required of the participants. Every photographer of age, born after January 1st 1990, can send his own photographic project to Condominio. Afterwards, the work of all the photographers will be judged by a jury of experts including the curator Francesco Zanot, the editor of Foam Magazine Elisa Medde, the founder of Matèria Gallery Niccolò Fano, the founder of Photocaptionist Federica Chiocchetti, the curator of CAMERA – Centro Italiano per la Fotografia Giangavino Pazzola and the artist Alba Zari. 

Finally, the selected projects will form an exhibition, presented on the occasion of the opening of the new Milanese headquarters of Condominio di via Melchiorre Gioia, 41, which will be held in the autumn of 2020. Italia 90 wants to shift the attention on contemporary generations and their approach to photography, trying to give back a complete vision of this new panorama. 

To participate you have until July 7, to know more information you just have to visit the Condominio website.