Lomography x Perimetro - 36 Shots, One Story: Interview with Arianna Angelini

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 Arianna Angelini, entitled Benedetta Malinconia and shot on Berlin Kino B&W film.

Hi Arianna! Tell us about this fantastic project. How did the idea come about?

Hello Lomography, what a pleasure to talk to you again! Benedetta Malinconia (Blessed Melancholy) is a project created to give voice to that sense of summer sadness and melancholy that assails me every year and makes me feel helpless and unable to experience time. I wanted to try for the first time to express this feeling but more importantly to exorcise it through something as visual and tangible as a diary. I wanted this project to be personal but at the same time something that everyone could identify with and find themselves in.

You paired your photos with your thoughts, handwritten by your grandmother. What was it like to involve her in this project?

Involving my grandmother in the project was perhaps the best part of the whole process. It was something that came about at the very last moment, when I had all the photos in front of me. Putting them together I realized that something was missing. I promised myself to create a kind of diary accompanied by sentences and thoughts that represented the moment and the feelings I was experiencing, and so I did. I used phone notes writing down the date each time and a thought I was feeling at the exact moment I was taking the picture, and then I decided to have my grandmother transcribe everything because I, like her, have always experienced everything with extreme nostalgia. I involved her in the project because she represents a very important part of me and because the more I spend time with her, the more I realize how much I, especially in emotions, resemble her.

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

I chose the Berlin Kino because I wanted to shoot with a film I was not familiar with and because I felt the need to tell the story of the project through black and white. It was a wonderful discovery and I loved this film because in my opinion it is very delicate and returns photos with a wide range of grays that make the atmosphere soft and dreamy.

Which camera did you use?

I shot the project with an Olympus point-and-shoot. I decided to use this type of camera because I wanted something that was immediate and allowed me to focus only on what I was experiencing without having to worry about setting the shutter speed and aperture every time.

You also experimented a lot with the development process, which gave these shots a special glow. What techniques did you use?

I wanted to do something I had never done and I wanted to challenge myself again once I had finished all the photos. I told myself "it was do or die," aware that I might lose everything I had taken in the three summer months. I soaked the roll of film in a solution of water and lemon and let it soak for a couple of days. Before having it developed, I took the film back and tried to dry it with a hair dryer by throwing the air inside, all in a room that was exposed to light. It was that light that "burned" the photos and gave them that glow that makes them so melancholy and dreamy. The roll of film, once dry, was finally developed with very diluted chemicals.

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

Having only one roll of film was difficult but at the same time also a stimulus. It was the first time I had to condense an entire project within one roll of film, and this made me try harder to listen to my emotions and try to figure out when it was really appropriate to shoot one moment rather than another.

Would you change anything if you could reshoot the same roll?

I don't think I would change anything but certainly if I could I would have liked to have an extra roll of film.

What role does analogue photography play for you in 2024?

For me to this day, analogue photography has two basic roles, one educational and the other creative. Shooting with an analogue camera in 2024 can be considered as an educational experience because it requires understanding, time and above all respect for the rules and concepts behind it. We live in an age where we are used to having everything and right away while analogue photography teaches us to slow down, to enjoy time and especially the anticipation of something to come. The other role analogue photography plays for me is a creative one. Analogue leaves and offers room for creativity and experimentation at all stages. There are so many techniques and manipulations that can be used and that in my opinion are a cue and especially a stimulus for us young photographers.

Do you have any interesting projects or collaborations planned?

I have so many ideas and plans in my head for 2024 that I hope to accomplish. One thing I would certainly like to do is to leave for an unknown destination and start a personal documentation project.

Follow Arianna on her website and on Instagram.

written by ludovicazen on 2024-03-18 #gear #people #places #summer #black-and-white #collaboration #documentary #film-soup #berlin-kino-b-w #perimetro