You Don’t Need Soil To Grow
Benedetta Ristori is an Italian documentary that focuses on sociological themes through the connection to topography. Our last conversation with Benedetta was about her photobook East, a part of the collaboration with Open Doors Gallery on the series Why We Create. In her latest project, You Don’t Need Soil To Grow, spanning from 2021-2023, she explores the lives of expat women living in Berlin, their experiences in the city, and the connection the location has on their journeys. The project also addressed the possibilities women have in European society and the lack of utilizing them to live and work abroad. To develop the concept of ‘home,’ Benedetta portrays small communities of people connected through Kleingärten in Berlin, which are personal garden spaces with small houses.
We speak with Benedetta about her approach to working in different locations, and the impact that understanding the place has on the photograph and narrative that unfolds. Benedetta questions the concept of ‘home’ and its evolving meaning to the people who decide to embark on a journey to study abroad or relocate for work. Speaking about a ‘place,’ Benedetta says, “When I approach a place and people I don't know, I find that my vision has the freedom to express itself without preconceived notions, and the connection with the space is like a blank canvas from which to start.”
Benedetta initiated a Kickstarter to support the publication of the photobook You Don’t Need Soil To Grow. The book, designed by Carel Fransen, will be published in 750 copies during the fall/winter of 2024 by The Eriskay Connection. Signed copies of the book are available for purchase, with an option to add a selected print and support the Kickstarter.
Photography by Benedetta Ristori
Designed by Carel Fransen
To be published by The Eriskay Connection
Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski
Publication Details
Softcover
23×27 cm
48 pages
750 copies
‘Travel, not necessarily to a distant place but as an exploration of an unfamiliar location, is at the core of my photographic research.’
The Experience
Hi Benedetta, how are you doing? The last time we spoke was about your project and photobook East. Since that conversation, the borders were opened again, and travel was reintroduced to our lives. What was your experience working on a project in a different country, in the city of expats?
The inability to travel during the pandemic has prompted reflection on how essential mobility is to my creative process. Travel, not necessarily to a distant place but as an exploration of an unfamiliar location, is at the core of my photographic research. When I approach a place and people I don't know, I find that my vision has the freedom to express itself without preconceived notions, and the connection with the space is like a blank canvas from which to start. For this reason, my experience has been a process of awareness and has served to connect me even more to the photographic process.
‘Does the feeling of belonging still exist, and conversely, what remains stable in a state of total evolution and change?’
You Don’t Need Soil To Grow
You Don’t Need Soil To Grow is a project that you were working on from 2021 to 2023 in Berlin. The change in a country affects a person's identity through new connections, the local language, and the characteristics of the place, allowing for personal development and growth. How did this project start, and what have you learned while working on it about topography and its connection to identity?
I chose to address this theme in Berlin because it is a city I have seen change enormously over the years, becoming an increasingly international reality, where many people (locals and non-locals) lament the significant gentrification and loss of identity. Contemporary society often has the privilege of being able to study or work in places far from one's country of origin, which made me question how and if our relationship with our 'home' changes. Does the feeling of belonging still exist, and conversely, what remains stable in a state of total evolution and change? Berlin is thus a symbolic metaphor for these dynamics. The project does not aim to answer these questions; rather, it seeks to pose new ones, inviting reflection on one's personal relationship with this theme.
‘None of these women knew each other, and each shared different motivations and stories, but what I found to be a common thread was the sense of freedom.’
The Theme
You decided to speak with numerous women expats living in Berlin to create portraits of women in common urban spaces, parks, and next to buildings in the city. Those places that belong to everyone can create a sense of home and shape self-identification through connection to the city. What was the common thread between these women’s experiences, and how has the location affected their self-identification and sense of belonging?
I met many women with whom I spoke and asked to share their experiences as expats, and many of them agreed to be photographed. My decision to include only women of different ages and nationalities is because, statistically, the percentage of women working abroad is, unfortunately, lower than that of men (often due to reasons such as caregiving for parents in their home country, maternity, disparities in job opportunities, etc.). Therefore, I thought it was important to give them a voice. None of these women knew each other, and each shared different motivations and stories, but what I found to be a common thread was the sense of freedom, the ability to reinvent themselves, to take risks, to follow their desires, to face their fears, and most importantly, to do it alone. I believe that the location was not significant in their journey; some decided to settle down, while others had already moved to a different country by the time of our meeting. For this reason, I chose to photograph them in places that were not significant to them because the space is fundamentally just a 'background.'
‘Unlike the expats, the majority of them did not want to be present in the photographs but consented to have their gardens photographed as a personal representation of themselves.’
Kleingarten
The concept of Kleingarten is a well-known one in Berlin that allows the city’s inhabitants a chance to connect with the soil and build new small communities inside the city that are still separate from the big city’s life. What was your way of approaching people in those communities to make a portrait? What were your conversations with them like?
Entering the world of Kleingärten was the most challenging part of the project, as it essentially meant entering the 'homes' of the residents and asking them to share their relationship with the land and the community. After several attempts, I was fortunate to meet the people in charge of internal associations of certain gardens, who introduced me by explaining the meaning and purpose of my project. Unlike the expats, the majority of them did not want to be present in the photographs but consented to have their gardens photographed as a personal representation of themselves. I found it very interesting to focus on the gardens and their small houses, as many of them have held contracts for over 20 years. Each garden tells a story of dedication and care for the land within an active and ever-changing metropolis, being part of a community that chooses to spend its time in a stable manner.
