Appartamento
Appartamento is an editorial created by Melissa Vizza, an Italian artist currently based in Florence. With this project, Melissa decided to research femininity and the feminine gaze through which she presents a character and their body. We are invited to a room in which models sit on a chair or stand in front of the wall looking directly at the camera and the photographer.
This act creates a dialogue and a certain connection. With drawings that uncover the body below the layers of clothes, the idea of learning about the authentic personality is uncovered. The desire to allow for a safe place (for the person to feel free of the identity dictated by the personal styling) comes to emphasize the vast distance between the real self and the persona that is presented to others. Melissa explains, “The goal of this editorial is to create an Ultra Body using illustrations as a tool to create an imperfect body. Undressing a body protected by clothes.”
Illustrations that accompany the images allow an ironic, simple, imperfect body shape to exist and merge with the real. The Ultra Body, as Melissa explains, is precisely the body that comes in contrast to the requested norm with an idea to create freedom of expression and new possibilities. The gaze, the communication that happens through the gaze of the models and the photographer, accompanied by the viewer’s curiosity, creates a dialogue accompanied by an urge to understand the other through a different perspective. It is a challenge the viewer is invited to invest their time in and accept the other as they are.
Photography, Styling & Illustration by Melissa Vizza MUA Angie Filiputti Models AnitaS Sofia Martina Matilde Clothes by Maria Virginia Benvenuti StudioVentisei Simona Vanth Accessories by object.ini
‘Appartamento was born from the spontaneity of the shot. It is a project based on the female gaze. The intent is to create, through illustration, an Ultra Body. A body that goes beyond, undressing the body and showing it naked.’
I never wanted to give a precise meaning to my work. I like to leave space for the observer and allow them free interpretation. Appartamento was born from the spontaneity of the shot. It is a project based on the female gaze. The intent is to create, through illustration, an Ultra Body. A body that goes beyond, undressing the body and showing it naked. We are always looking for perfection when we dress. We always want to show the best part of ourselves by wearing a piece of clothing. The choice of the title Appartamento refers to the location where everything took place. Examining the word apartment: it is nothing more than a complex of rooms that make up the home for a family. We wanted to create a space where four female bodies were free from any filter, where they showed themselves for what they were. For this reason, as I said in the beginning, I have never wanted to give a precise definition to my work. Appartamento, for me, is a private place where we feel free to manifest ourselves as we want, a safe place where we can get to know each other, an intimate place.
‘The randomness of the shot. The ability to stop time, to not dwell too much on perfection. The use of black and white film definitely gave the project a nostalgic feel.’
As a photographer, stylist, and illustrator in this project, I wanted to bring forward my vision of the female body, I wanted to lay bare and enclose in a single project my photographic vision. The use of analog photography takes you away with bated breath, and that's what I like about this project. The randomness of the shot. The ability to stop time, to not dwell too much on perfection. The use of black and white film definitely gave the project a nostalgic feel. Not having color shots allows you to fantasize even more with your mind. It allows you to create an image to your liking, to choose the colors of the clothes, to choose the colors of the light.
‘The cohesion of two bodies creates an Ultra Body. A body that goes beyond, that shows itself bare and imperfect within a society where an ideal standard is still required to be 'perfect.'’
The use of illustration came randomly. I spent part of these years drawing naked bodies in strange positions. In my mind, these drawings are nothing more than an unreal vision of the human body. It seems as if they can only live in the creative sphere of my being. They don't follow any symmetry or proportion. It is random. I find it wonderful! The possibility of placing one illustrated body on top of another, dressed, elevates the project.
The cohesion of two bodies creates an Ultra Body. A body that goes beyond, that shows itself bare and imperfect within a society where an ideal standard is still required to be 'perfect.' A dress is set aside, a body is shown, sometimes unrealistic but completely harmonious with the underlying photograph. This is Appartamento, a place of experimentation and intimacy.
