Iceland photo diary
June 2016
a/COLOR BLOCK
b/THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT
c/WES
“Val d’Europe is a part of the new town known as Marne-la-Vallée. The final area of the district is currently in development. It is located around 35 km to the east of Paris, near Disneyland Paris. Val d’Europe was built in conjunction with The Walt Disney Company, who wished to create a town near the Disney resort.
Euro Disney is the only private company within France that has had such a large say in the development of an urban area of this scale.The architectural style takes inspiration from the “neo-traditional” style of the Baron Haussmann, who supervised the construction of many buildings in Paris in the 19th century.” (Wikipedia)
The only people to be found in Val d’Europe are in the station or shopping centre/outlet. Anywhere else the place feels like a ghost town sprung up in the middle of nowhere.The only sounds are the birds or the odd distant car. This town is home to the people who work at the shopping centre or EuroDisney, but the overwhelming sensation is that nobody really lives here.
Whatever I see in NYC
La Grande-Motte, August 2021
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La Grande-Motte is the work of a visionary architect: Jean Balladur. He was commissioned to design a sea resort on a marshy wasteland in the 60s. He built an exceptional site with pyramid residences inspired by Mexico's Pre-Columbian temples and the sea world.
A Look Through It is a series which, as is often the case, is born from an aesthetic desire which I feel is fundamental, but which actually is often raised by memories and especially from “aesthetic and social values” with which I grew up over the years.
What do I mean by social values? The first image, taken instinctively, looks as though divided into a view inside of the Pain Quotidien where a film-like scene unfolds, while on the other side of the window poverty and wealth coexist, both looking into the interior of the restaurant where the light is directed, conveying a cinema-like atmosphere.One of the big themes which we find fascinating about the Big Apple is in fact this coexistence between sailing away in wellbeing and limping along in insecurity – two topics often found side by side, in the streets and on the subway. But surely the stories which live in this window are the recurring theme of this particular stretch.
Stories which you’ll be familiar with if you find yourself it the middle of it all, but which if you’re on the outside you can only imagine. This series is a homage to New York as I imagined it, having lived far away from it, amidst the stories, the images, the film frames and the songs that shaped its infinite identity.
"Rivalries" is a 100 hand numbered copies zine.
"Historic rivalries are the life and soul of sport; that boost of adrenalin that can transform a simple match into an unforgettable event, something to tell your children about, one of those moments in a fan’s life that’s beaten only by their wedding day and birth of their firstborn.
Sports rivalries usually have ancient roots, often connected to territory or a sense of belonging, but sometimes motivated by political, cultural or economic reasons. One thing is for sure; the vast majority of fans generally have no idea why the rivalry even exists.
In the States however, sports rivalries don’t equate to hooligans, violence, burnt cars and the scent of teargas. Americans have their own vision of supporting their teams, a vision deeply rooted in the Stars & Stripes culture, which leans far more towards the concept of a show and a picnic than love, loyalty and belonging.
While the rest of the world shows devotion to its team by getting to the stadium three hours before the match to unroll banners and prepare placards for the choreography, American fans express the same concept with extravagance, an OTT dress code, a hot dog washed down with half a litre of Miller Light and attempts to be the most responsive when the ‘Kiss Cam’ makes its rounds.
There is no organisation, there is no aggregation, being a fan is something personal, to be shared with family or your season ticket holder pal that’s sat alongside you for the past ten years.
This approach means that sports rivalries in the USA become vast carnivals where getting the better of your adversaries requires exuberant wigs, strictly handmade A4 posters, original merchandising and gigantic foam hands.
BUY THE ZINE HERE
thanks to: Luca Zamoc (illustrations & cover) - Giulio Cubo Ferrarella (layout) - Walter Proserpio (text) - Vicky Miller (translation)
August, Cannes