«In the light of you», how difficult is it to look into each other’s eyes?

Social distancing. One of the words that has accompanied us most in the last year and which, together with protective masks, accompanies our daily gestures. Measures born to protect us from the pandemic and which have tested our way of being and being in relation to others. From this need it was born In the Light of you, the photographic project by Giorgio Barrera, teacher and author of the essay The battle of images became a collective account of society and its connections during the pandemic.

But not only.

«The goal is to modify the parameters with which we approach images and the description of facts. Dim the emergency and be more attentive to the observation of things. Taking time helps to understand ».

How was this project born?
«It was certainly born in relation to social distancing, with the advent of the first anti-covid measures last March. However, it is not necessarily a work on Covid. For me it was born as a visual study to talk about one thing that social distancing has emphasized: the need to maintain human relationships in a superior way. Being able to talk more, freely exchange their thoughts. I literally woke up one morning with the image of two people looking at each other in the middle of a space in my mind. A little ‘also in contrast to these current and news photos in which often only empty spaces, very dramatic, were seen. For me, rather than emphasizing the drama, in this case it was necessary to bring a new way of viewing or representing a situation from a visual and photographic point of view ».

In the light of you. What’s the message?
«The title was born after a while. In English it means “in consideration of you” but above all I like the literal translation, “to highlight” the other. The idea of ​​the meeting is precisely the imaginary that you want to create. We all have our own light, in this sense the title recalls the idea of ​​being able to see and hear the other. Among all the numbers, algorithms, we have lost a bit of romanticism, in the sense of being closer to matters of the heart than of the mind ».

How hard is it to make eye contact?
“Doing it in front of a camera, then framing yourself in a scene, in my opinion is even easier. The project was initially born as a mini flash mob, because you could not go out, especially in the red zone. So I made arrangements with people who went shopping, or to the pharmacy, the post office, etc. If a person feels comfortable with what he is doing, he is happy with himself, he can look anyone in the eye and not even be afraid of receiving a glance from others. It’s a meeting, years ago it was easier. Now this thing is shunned as if the other could slightly undermine our individuality, modality of expression. With this project we can do some exercise ».

How did it become a collective work?
“He became one on his own. I have been working with photography for at least twenty-five years and already twenty years ago I intended to involve people to create a sort of documentation of Italy made by those who live in places. I’ve never done it, this thing remained inside me and when I started working on this project it seemed natural to me to continue like this ».

Which shots are you most associated with?
«Certainly the first images I took in Florence, as well as the first image I received from others, which is that of a dear friend and colleague of mine, Andrea Botto, made in Liguria. Then there are the photos taken in Paris of a young French photographer, a student of mine who moved to Berlin to do an internship, Enrico Caruso. All the photos were important to me, especially those that came spontaneously from people I didn’t involve myself ».