Hereby few pics from the exhibition of photographer Sofie Knijff in ex-Chiesetta dell'Angelo, I curated in collaboration with
Urbanautica for Bassano Fotografia 2011 (from 17 sept. 2011 to 06 jan. 2012). The show is part of the Art Shift
Programme curated by Manfrotto. The images are
taken from the series Translation.
The exhibition is conceived as an installation that converses with the
exhibition environment, and old dismissed church. The photos reveal
childrens dreams and expectatins for the future. The portraits realized
by Knijff well match with the repetitive and austere atmosphere of the
old Church of the Angel.
«In her work, Sofie creates “theatrical” spaces in which illusion and reality mingle. The actual staging is not culturally-bound, but rather conveys a universal meaning - and is a catalyst for revealing differences.
Over the past year, Sofie has travelled across South Africa, India and Mali to portray children and their fantasy worlds & dreams.
Her aim was to isolate them from their surroundings, and daily lives, and focus their attention to reveal their own “dream character”. By using the same backdrop, she created a stage on which the dreams could come to life. The challenge was to build a warm, subtle and yet sustained level concentration to capture the moment of transformation: the second honesty and innocence emerge. At the same time, she took images of the empty spaces in which the same children live; allowing to create a set of images where the inside and outside mirror and influence one another.
The impact of time underpins this project. It is hard not to wonder what will become of childhood dreams and expectations.»
See also Sofie Knijff, Bassano Fotografia 2011
