Londoners’ Portraits

May 2nd, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink


Today I want to share with you some of the portraits I’m taking of Londoners. It’s an ongoing project I started with the idea of working with the medium format camera to show the people I’m finding in this messy city. However I couldn’t find time yet to develop the film, so right now I’m just able to show you the digital ones. Soon to come more

First we have Nicolo, an italian illustrator who came to London for love and is currently based in Brixton, you can have a look at his works on the site.

Then I met Silvina, an argentinian jewellery designer, living right at the other side of the city (not less than an hour away) she showed me her little studio where is currently working on some pieces. We had a really nice time, and really nice portraits,  soon to come the ones from the medium format camera.

 

 

 

And finally, Ian, a photographer who contacted me after the final degree exhibition, and who was the first person to ever buy me a book! Highly appreciated, as well as the 100 rolls of film he gave me to experiment.

Finalist at the POYi Community Awareness Award

February 17th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

More great news are arriving: just the same day I was announced as One to Watch by Lisa Pritchard Agency, I got the email announcing I was finalist on the Pictures of the Year International, on the Community Awareness Award!

The first place was for Sebastian Liste’s project Urban Quilombo, about the life on an abandoned chocolate factory in Brazil, and my Menonos project was awarded the second place together with Lisa Wiltse’s project about the underage sex workers of Bangladesh.

Please have a look at the POYi site here.

 

 

 

“One to watch”

February 16th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

I’m really happy to announce that today I’ve been anounced by Lisa Pritchard Agency as the one to watch! on the third of their challenges, the student one, I’ve been selected over all the participants for my picture of the Mennonite kids, you can have a look at their site here.

Couldn’t be more happy with their words about me,

Recently shortlisted for the Ian Parry award, exhibited at the Getty Images Gallery, recognised by Photo8 as photo story of the week and published in the Sunday Times Magazine, we think you’ll agree Jordi is “one to watch”.

 

 

 

Menonos in Photo8

February 3rd, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

I’m pleased the Menonos project is being featured at the Foto8 website as the Photo Story of the week, with the five siblings as the main picture. Thanks to Lauren Heinz for the editing, please have a look here.

and more to come!

Neither Snake nor Lizard

December 19th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Neither Snake nor Lizard. Under this title we gathered the major projects of the MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography, and we did an amazing exhibition that you can visit at the LCC until the 14th of January. You can have a look at the projects and get the details of the exhibition at our website.

Why this title? Well, it was under no little struggle amongst the classmates, but at the end we decided for that, and can be read as neither this nor that, neither documentary nor art… A title that presents the wide variety of projects presented on the exhibition.

So, together with other 27 great projects done by my loved colleagues, I’m proud to present the project I’ve been working for over a year, about the Mennonites Colonies in Bolivia. I couldn’t be more happy with the way it’s shown on the exhibition, with a huge print of five mennonite siblings, and a few large portrait prints, as well as the book. I’d really encourage you all to see the the projects presented, great stuff!

Besides the work done on my part of the exhibit, I’ve also done the graphic identity of the exhibition, with postcards, invitations, brochure and signage around the place. A huge work that ended in a great opening night.

go to see it, you won’t regret!

 

 

 

“In no man’s land” featured on Positive Magazine

November 8th, 2011 § 3 comments § permalink

Dear everyone, I’m pleased to announce that the documentary I shoot in May in Tunissia, “In no man’s land” is being featured in Positive Magazine on their 8th issue.

The photodocumentary focused on the refugees escaping Lybia after the conflict begun there, but the ones originary from African conflict countries such as Somalia, Sudan or Ivory Coast. Their situation on the refugee camp was at the time really uncertain, as they weren’t allowed to leave, they had no country to go back, and no passport to go anywhere else. Many of the ones I met there seem to be in the same situation after 7 months, as one of them told me last week by phone. The situation is far from getting better even if the conflict seems to be solved soon in the neighbour country.

Hope you enjoy it, many thanks to the magazine editor Giacomo Cosua for his work!

You can have a look at the online magazine here.

 

 

The long task of editing

October 27th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

I’m now preparing the final edit of the Mennonites project I’ve recently shoot. It’s going to be presented as a book for my final project on the MA, and as an exhibition at the LCC as well.

As I was there I tried to portrait their lifestyle, but to look for a deeper understanding of their lifestyle. Amongst the many issues found there the was the essential idea of isolation about this remote communities, that at first make me feel interested on their story. Why they live in such a way? How they relate with common bolivians? Essentially they live far away so the influence of the “outside world” will take longer to affect them, and so, to make the people inside less able to move. The language was as well a matter of difference (as always!), but also a very powerful way to preserve their people separated from the others. If you speak Low German and try to move around Bolivia, it’s gonna be pretty difficult to arrive anywhere.

Now I’m full time working on that, so I’ll keep you updated on the changes on the project. Here are a few of the pictures I’ve selected so far.


My Mennonite family

September 14th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink


How to picture people who has forbidden taking pictures? that’s the question I’m trying to solve in my new trip to the Bolivian lands. I’m here again trying to finish the project I already started in 2010 about the Mennonite communities. The Mennointes are originary from Germany, where they left around the 17thy century. They moved to East Europe and Russia, and from there to Canada and the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. They moved down the continent reaching Bolivia on the 50′s. Now they mantain as much as they can the ancient lifestyle they used to have back in the times; they live in small communities sutented by hard work on the fields and the cattle, and they preserve a very conservative way of life. Essentially they life a devote life to God, with no luxuries, no modern supplies (telephone or cars are forbidden), no birth control and many other rules that are followed in different ways in each of the colonies.

However, the modern times are reaching this really closed society and the youth is wanting to change, although in a very, very moderate way. Some problems are rising like alcohol consumption, or listening to music (wich is forbidden as well), and some of them are creating new colonnies more isolated so society won’t arrive that easily.

I’ve been here already for three weeks, and still working. You can have a look at some portraits of the Knelssen family, who kindly hosted me for a couple of days and let me take them some pictures. Have to say that portraits are really, really, difficult to take, as I said, photography is forbidden…

hope you enjoy them,

 



 

In no man’s land

May 22nd, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink


A few weeks ago I went to Tunisia to document the situation of the displaced form Libyan conflict that are settled in refugee camps near the Libyan border.
I spent a few days there having lots of teas with them and long chats, and have to say it really changed my perspective over the refugees issue itself, and it opened my mind to a bigger issue, the political refugees.

Many of the people staying in the camp were coming from conflict countries such as Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan or Ivoy Coast. As there’s a situation of political repression or armed conflict, they can’t go back there, but neither they can go anywhere else as they are illegal immigrants. So, they don’t have many choices. Many of them were trying to find political asylum in a western country, however the process is long and the situation in the camp is pretty hard. So many of the young ones I spoke with where thinking in going to Europe by any way, even crossing to Libya again despite the conflict, and try to cross by boat to Italy.

Here you can see a brief selection of the pics, and the full layout below. A photovideo is coming soon.

hope you like it,

 

 

Mamiya

April 6th, 2011 § 3 comments § permalink

Well, so I got a shinny new Mamiya 6×7, and here are the first results. Have to say it’s pretty difficult to get used to it, it’s really big, really heavy (more than 3kg!) and the manual focus is running me crazy, and of course, there are all the forgotten issues about the film, speed, not seeing what you do, developing… Back to the old times!


« Older Entries