LIFE AFTER ZOG and other stories is an ongoing project bringing to light an evolving web of stories, both personal and political, set against the wider cultural and geographical landscape of Albania.

As a child, in the early Nineties, I witnessed streams of disillusioned Albanians docking on the coasts of my hometown in Southern Italy, instilling in me a fascination for this enigmatic land and its people. Running away from a hopeless future, towards something equally uncertain, they left me with questions about who and what was left behind, prompting me some years later to make a photographic journey to the remote areas of High Albania.

The resulting work depicts this country as an enchanted place, a place with no time, inhabited by people who share the land with their ancestors’ ghosts.

LIFE AFTER ZOG and other stories is an ongoing project bringing to light an evolving web of stories, both personal and political, set against the wider cultural and geographical landscape of Albania.

As a child, in the early Nineties, I witnessed streams of disillusioned Albanians docking on the coasts of my hometown in Southern Italy, instilling in me a fascination for this enigmatic land and its people. Running away from a hopeless future, towards something equally uncertain, they left me with questions about who and what was left behind, prompting me some years later to make a photographic journey to the remote areas of High Albania.

The resulting work depicts this country as an enchanted place, a place with no time, inhabited by people who share the land with their ancestors’ ghosts.

We are fascinated by twins without knowing exactly what it is that fascinates us. In the realm of twins the archetype of universal duality assumes a specific and spectacular form, manifesting its own set of unique and self-referential laws. Twins confront us with a mystery at once elusive and unavoidable. Facing the Other in the guise of twin or double, we sense a threat to our idea of personal identity, yet we are teased and delighted by the odd prospect of becoming ‘otherwise’.

The project Identico (Italian for ‘identical’) is a series of studio portraits of identical twins and revolves around the idea of identity (and “identicality”) and being a twin in an age in which we all try to be different and unique individuals. The portraits have been taken of each twin separately, but both of them are set in the same spot at different times.

LIFE AFTER ZOG and other stories is an ongoing project bringing to light an evolving web of stories, both personal and political, set against the wider cultural and geographical landscape of Albania.

As a child, in the early Nineties, I witnessed streams of disillusioned Albanians docking on the coasts of my hometown in Southern Italy, instilling in me a fascination for this enigmatic land and its people. Running away from a hopeless future, towards something equally uncertain, they left me with questions about who and what was left behind, prompting me some years later to make a photographic journey to the remote areas of High Albania.

The resulting work depicts this country as an enchanted place, a place with no time, inhabited by people who share the land with their ancestors’ ghosts.

We are fascinated by twins without knowing exactly what it is that fascinates us. In the realm of twins the archetype of universal duality assumes a specific and spectacular form, manifesting its own set of unique and self-referential laws. Twins confront us with a mystery at once elusive and unavoidable. Facing the Other in the guise of twin or double, we sense a threat to our idea of personal identity, yet we are teased and delighted by the odd prospect of becoming ‘otherwise’.

The project Identico (Italian for ‘identical’) is a series of studio portraits of identical twins and revolves around the idea of identity (and “identicality”) and being a twin in an age in which we all try to be different and unique individuals. The portraits have been taken of each twin separately, but both of them are set in the same spot at different times.

Islamic strictures regarding depictions of living beings see such images as potential triggers for idolatry, as well as a debased imitation of Allah’s creation.

In 2008 I worked with Muslim women to reflect on these issues, exploring their interpretations of how they would like to be represented. I negotiated with each of my subjects to create their portraits, lighting only what each of them allowed me to depict.

Whilst one woman chose to show her hair and another focused on her personal copy of the Quran, others allowed me to photograph their face without a veil.