Having devoted more time to my photography over the last year, I’m still developing my own approach and style, but I am drawn to the relationships between people and different environments, settings and activities, and how photography can use form, shape and space to frame and interpret these relationships and capture their essence. I’m based in London and this is my first exhibition.
For the London Photo Show, I decided to photograph a religious procession in southern Italy, an event I have witnessed several times before. Every September, Reggio Calabria celebrates the festival of Our Lady of Consolation with four days of traditional cultural and culinary activities. At the heart of the festival, a painting of the Madonna and Child is carried through the streets on the Vara, a processional structure 5m high and weighing 1.2t. Teams of 100 men, the Portatori, take turns in carrying the Vara the 3.5km route from its home in the Eremo Basilica in the hills through the city to the cathedral.
For the inhabitants of Reggio, Our Lady of Consolation is considered the mother of the city to whom they appeal for favours and offer thanks. Rather than a private matter, devotion seems to flow through the city’s veins, a shared ritual and collective memory. More than a sacred image, Our Lady of Consolation is a real presence who descends into the streets to provide comfort to a city which sings her praises while carrying her on its shoulders.
Over the course of a day, I wanted to capture the different emotions and relationships within the procession. Between the all male Portatori and the mother and child they carry, the special connection between women and the Madonna, and the collective emotion of the city itself. I enjoyed the challenge of photographing events as they unfolded and finding those meaningful moments which hopefully convey the essence of the procession and resonate with the viewer.
Thanks to Nino, one of the Portatori, who took me under his wing for the day.
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