Faced with the current situation of Italy , of the Covid pandemic – 19 , of the daily difficulties, there are many stories that can be told; in large part we are bombarded with negative stories, which often speak of numbers, without giving a face to those numbers, to those people.

In this type of moment, however, it is also necessary to find the courage to tell a different story , to sing out of the chorus and that’s what he decided to do Irene Ferri , a young artist also selected by Nikon Europa and from Nikon Italia to be one of its best talents. Thus was born ITALIA , a photographic project ‘ personal-collective ‘in which the photographer wants to give voice to the positive words of Italians through her images .

The voice of positive Italy in images

“ Never as in this moment c? ? there is a need for positivity and the desire to restart! “this is one of the mottos of the project, which also challenges the linguistic drift for which today ‘ positive’ is used more and more in a negative sense, referring in the first instance to the feared result of the swabs. A ‘ challenge to negativity ‘ that oppresses the story of the current situation, also in this case with an oxymoronic choice of terms with respect to the meaning with which the word is understood most in this period.

After living abroad, upon returning to Italy he looked at our country with different eyes and in some ways also struggled to readjust. But it was precisely from looking at reality with another gaze that the need arose to try to tell about Italy with a different voice :

” After two years from my return to Italy I am tired. Tired of hearing only complaints and listening only to negativity, coming out of my mouth or that of others. I have heard several times? What a beautiful Italy! ?? from my American friends rather than my compatriots. Hence my desire to create a photographic project that involves all of us “says the photographer .

Irene has collected testimonies all over the Peninsula, but the project is still in progress and it is possible on the photographer’s website to apply to tell her own story and see it translated into images by the photographer. The modality is simple, just answer the questions? What memory or story binds you to Italy? What does Italy mean to you ??? or, if you live abroad, ?? What do you miss most about Italy ??? and fill in this form: https://www.ireneferri.com/it/progetto-italia/

Here are some of the stories and photos with which Irene Ferri gave voice to those who took a few moments to tell their story.

Market

?? The local markets, the stalls, the people shouting, the perfumes that assault you, taste a strawberry and then buy a box ??

Marta

?? Italy for me are the ?? screams ?? at the covered market of my city Livorno. Since I was a child, my mother used to take me shopping and after buying fish at the covered market, we went to the fruit and vegetable stalls and ?? baby the good fruit c ?? is the only me ?? was on the agenda.??

Arianna

?? My grandmother. The basket he held over his head as he returned from the market, with no hands. Then I was ashamed, now I don’t know what I would give to relive this image.??

Miriam

Sacred and profane

?? Italy is that place where the sacred and the profane meet. A statue of the Virgin guarding a football in a sultry entrance hall in Scalea, collections of spiked clubs for sale alongside the souvenirs of the relics of St. Francis in the alleys of Assisi, the models parading in front of the Cathedral of Lecce. ?? Manuela

Grandparents / parents / memories (Italians abroad)

If I close my eyes, can I ?? teleport me ?? at the grandparents’ house by the sea. Dad went out early in the morning to go and plant the umbrella in the front row. I love to sit under the big palm tree in the garden with the awning as blue as the sea.

Grandfather, after sunset, began to look for cockles, we looked at him from the shore! ??

Martina