Lomography X Perimetro – 36 Shots, One Story: Interview with Francesca Tilio

This big open call attracted more than 250 submissions, and involved a network of 39 partners including cultural institutions, photography schools, magazines, labs and independent creative spaces who supported us by selecting the winning projects.

Seven photographers from seven Italian cities (Bologna, Florence, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Rome and Turin) told their own stories with a roll of Lomography film. The projects were all different from each other, without rules or themes to follow, for results that, in 36 shots, rediscovered the pleasure of surprise and the beauty of the unexpected. Today we present one of these projects by Francesca Tilio, entitled Teenagers of The 21st Century and shot on LomoChrome Metropolis film.

Hi Francesca! Could you please introduce yourself to the readers of our Online Magazine?

My name is Francesca Tilio, and I was born and live with my family in Jesi, Marche.

Can you tell us about your photographic background? When did your journey into photography begin?

For me, photography is research, creative thinking, action and profession. Usually clients come to me through artistic and authorial work. I approached the medium of photography as an adult and the camera, more than other tools, helped me express myself and my inner world. It allowed me and allows me - with relative ease - to shape ideas and turn them into images, but probably the aspect that fascinates me most is the possibility it gives me to approach people. The medium of photography, creative vision and planning make me less shy, more talkative, outreaching to others, at work to tell a vision, never absolute truth. As with the project on twenty-first century adolescents, it is an idea that leads me toward girls and boys, in an effort to give them tools for self-telling.

Tell us about this fantastic project. How did the idea come about? Would you like to continue to explore adolescence in your future projects as well?

Inspired by People of the Twentieth Century, August Sander's great photographic work, and driven by a desire to tell the story of an often little-heard generation, in 2020 - at the height of the pandemic - I directed my authorial work toward adolescents. The reason for this choice lies in the possibility of giving them a voice at a delicate time of life, full of fragility and contradictions. TEENAGERS OF THE 21st CENTURY (TO21C) is a project of portraits, musical playlists and anonymous pages written in diaries that I make available to them. The protagonists are girls and boys between the ages of 13 and 19, photographed on the street, at school, at home, in the places of their daily lives. An artistic and social project that over time has turned into exhibitions, publications, educational experiences in Italy and abroad.

TO21C is in the making. The desire is to continue over time and around the world to chronicle the complexity and wonder of adolescence, a time that is bound to change and change us quickly. It is amazing to meet today the kids photographed only a couple of years ago. They are different, new people, and they are the first to be surprised and to have forgotten that time, their physical appearance, the music they listened to, how they dressed.

I have an awareness of the value of this work that freezes a moment and becomes a sounding board of joys and malaises of a period contained in a bubble destined to burst. Over time the project has received numerous awards, been exhibited in Italy and France, and developed through workshops and residencies. In 2024 I will have the opportunity to continue the research and I will do so by collaborating with artists, institutions and realities that have shown interest in my research.

The experience in Bologna lasted only a few days but I have unforgettable memories. Accompanied by my 10-year-old daughter Dora, we chose which streets to walk and who to stop, we shared chats and time with most of the kids photographed. The most difficult part is always to return the release form signed by a parent, an important document for the publication and use of the images. That is why I chose to leave the shots of the people who did not provide permission in the negative, a stratagem that allows me to tell without showing.

You chose to shoot this project with our film LomoChrome Metropolis. Why this choice and what features particularly impressed you about this film?

Participating in the Lomography x Perimetro Call gave me the opportunity to abandon digital for film, to experiment, to take risks. I chose the film LomoChrome Metropolis because I wanted a somewhat retro color result and to associate Bologna with the imagery of the youth revolution of the last century, to return a timeless narrative.

Has having only 36 shots available been a stimulus for you or a limitation for your creative process?

Shooting without immediately knowing the result is exciting and slightly scary. Several times I imagined the wrongly loaded roll of film, the lack of focus, the wrong exposure... it's all part of the game, and playing - I told myself - will be part of the creative process. The result is partially calculated, sometimes imperfect. The colors, the framing partly surprised me too. I am probably more interested in the anonymous thoughts the protagonists left in the diary than in their faces. I find it fascinating how Bologna comes out of their pages. The city is told through the experiences and emotions of the new generation, valuable material for everyone, including adults.

Follow Francesca on her website and on Instagram.

written by ludovicazen on 2024-03-10 #gear #collaboration #documentary #youth #portraits #bologna #lomochrome-metropolis #perimetro