Lockdown Portrait Stories

“After the war there was a desire to dance that shed light” are the words of Francesco Guccini, Italian songwriter, who accompanied me and illuminated my thoughts during the period of lockdown I spent in Rome between March and May 2020 due to the Covid19 pandemic. With the desire to break that sense of isolation, I went to visit my friends, near and far, and instinctively started to take portraits of them. I did it the only way I could in that period of social distance, sitting at my desk, taking a screenshot from my computer during a Zoom video call. Every person I portrayed was asked to share with me a song that was meaningful to them in the lockdown period to create a soundtrack of the project. Friends, and then also strangers, welcomed me in their homes, in their intimacy, willing to share moments of a new daily life, thoughts and reflections on this moment of isolation. I looked for that light to shine in every story I met, for those small details creating a new balance in our life, an old guitar becoming your best friend, a shared terrace overlooking the city, a secret rooftop. I travelled through 5 continents in that period, and met more than 60 people of every age, from my home. I felt close to them, grateful for documenting an unimaginable time, hoping to find ourselves soon together out there and with a desire to dance that will shine light on us.

Fulvia Bernacca

1. Edition 05/2021 by 89books
Texts by Fulvia Bernacca
Book design by Fulvia Bernacca 96 pages
15 x 21 cm
40 color photographs
Softcover
Digital print
ISBN: 9791280423092