DNA: Italy 2019
Many times over the years I’ve been fortunate to have been able to travel to and photograph in Italy. At a fundamental level, the photographs I make there function for me as a mirror. I was born in the USA but all four of my grandparents were immigrants from Italy. My paternal grandparents entered the USA through Ellis Island and my maternal grandparents initially immigrated to Canada and then down to the USA. So whatever else my photographs show me, they are also revealing what it is to be Italian and perhaps offer a glimpse of part of myself.
These photographs were made during a recent five-week trip to Italy. Much of that time I was touring the country on a bus. We covered lots of miles. I photographed often and most often through a bus window. The photographs through those windows are often layered with reflections of the bus interior, the other side of the road mixed with the scenes that I am pointing my lens towards outside the windows. Many other photographs, though not made through a bus window, also are layered with reflections. (Please note that all layering is happening in camera with one exposure and I am only making basic adjustments in the post processing of the digital files.) The images I am seeing is these “mirrors” are anything but clear. They are often complicated and confusing as is my search for identity when I am in Italy.
