This Place Truly Exists 2013-2015 statement

Everything started as a game between me and my son in the period when me and his father split up, and we were moving back and forth between Italy and Russia. Everytime we took a plane, the game started. We would imagine to arrive in a place where we’ve always dreamed to live and would make a list of things we want to keep with us.

This fragmented imaginary world was full of snow and sand, sun and frozen pines, desert plants and reindeers. Words from different languages were mixed in one phrase, and the tension of not knowing where we belong was gone.

Searching for a homeland is very much like searching for an identity, a set of things that make a person definitely recognizable, a condition of being oneself and not another.

The project is a gathering of these puzzle pieces that became a photobook by which I try to overcome the fragmentation and to always remember: this place truly exists.