So Far from Spring

This project was developed during the Covid-19 pandemic, the most recent collective trauma, at a time when working outside was no longer possible. In this context, I chose the language of the photo novel. The work follows two lovers separated across continents during lockdown, he in Rome, she in the United States. The narrative combines photographs and illustrations. The photographs portray the interior of the main character’s home, tracing the rhythm of isolation. The outside world is constructed through drawings by Rome-based illustrator Ottavia Natoli, developed from my photographs. Her drawings draw on atmospheres from my work in the American West, with saturated colors and open landscapes contrasting with darker interiors. Screens, televisions, phones, and computers are also drawn. The work focuses on the distance between inside and outside, and on the experience of separation that marked that time.