In developing an Italian portfolio, my aim is not to map out, to document, or to construct a narrative. This is not a rehash of Bruno Barbey’s “The Italians”. Nor is it an attempt to make an inventory of the peninsula’s cultural treasures.
For me, a photographic project emerges at the intersection of two elements: a geographic location and a camera.

Geography is shorthand for a particular cultural matrix, an architecture, a landscape and a particular quality of light.

A camera then is a technical artefact that triggers a particular way of moving through and looking at the visible world. In this case, I have chosen for a combination of two camera formats. The formal balance of the square format is complemented by a more dynamic panoramic format in a 2:1 ratio.

Together, camera and location create a space to liberate my photographic imagination. And the outcome of that process is always unpredictable. The portfolio is nothing more than the sediment resulting from this confrontation. If there has been a direct inspiration to this undertaking, it is Mimmo Jodice’s life-long devotion to the Mediterranean topos.

Contact

Philippe Vandenbroeck is a photographer living in Leuven, Belgium. Recent projects include a Mongolian Portfolio and a survey of Europe’s 25 capital cities. For feedback please contact the photographer at philipp.vandenbroeck@pandora.be.
The copyright of all images shown on this website belongs to Philippe Vandenbroeck and they may not be copied in any way without prior express permission.