Arte Laguna Prize 15

Grateful to be part of the 120 artists that exhibit at the Arsenale of Venice from October 2 to October 24, 2021.

Hair (a) Getting grey.
Collection of hair from different cuts

2013 - 2017
Rome / Cairo / New York
35mm film B/W

ARSENALE DI VENEZIA

FROM OCTOBER 2ND TO OCTOBER 24TH
30122 VENICE, METROPOLITAN CITY OF VENICE, ITALY

I am a collector.

Ever since I can remember, I have been collecting everything, particularly my own things as a sort of memorial. Saving every single object is for me the first step of a possible collection: notebooks, cans, stuffed animals, receipts, batteries, or parts of myself like teeth, hair, and nails, just to mention some of them.

To keep and catalog objects has always given me pleasure. It started with me collecting memories and things that I was emotionally attached to, and it developed into an obsession to pile up ordinary objects in series. The only complication I have is the space. Collecting requires a lot of physical and mental space, which led me to find ways to let things go.

I have realized that, to be able to throw anything away, I first need to celebrate the detachment by taking pictures of it. The composition is the result of the entire process, the image is the purpose to achieve. By then, I convince myself that what I have collected will somehow survive, especially using films as they don't leave me empty-handed.

The project Therapy is photography used as a remedy to an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).