About To Leave
The mixed emotions of distress, excitement, the first seeds of nostalgia emerge and remind you that - you feel, there is a connection, this is your history. Have you ever left a place? How did it shift your perception? How did this change the essence of you? What was permanently left behind? slidingdoorsSTUDIO approaches and researches this topic in the latest series About To Leave.
The story is told by juxtaposing the dynamics of the movement with the static human body’s form. The emphasis is put via the exclamation of the emotion in facial expressions. The images revoke the personal experience and offer to empathize with the subject while remembering the feeling.
We speak with slidingdoorsSTUDIO, based in Milan, which specializes in production, photography, and creative direction. We discuss the vision for the story and their interpretation of leaving a place, “The act of leaving in itself is an act of courage, but also an act of extreme trust (maybe unconscious) in one's possibilities.” We speak about the contemporary dance and Futurist Theater by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti becoming an inspiration for the shoot and the research of what is actually left behind, what part of a human will never join the motion forward.
Art Direction slidingdoorsSTUDIO Photography Fabrizio Martinelli Styling & Casting slidingdoorsSTUDIO MUAH Nicole Sorti Talent Giulia Ghezzi at Next Models
‘We believe that leaving 'the places' is a necessary part of an individual's growth path... perhaps it is an instinct. The act of leaving in itself is an act of courage, but also an act of extreme trust (maybe unconscious) in one's possibilities.’
Did you have an experience of leaving a place, people who belong to the place?
“Those who belong to no one but themselves can never be abandoned.” - David Leavitt.
We believe that leaving 'the places' is a necessary part of an individual's growth path... perhaps it is an instinct. The act of leaving in itself is an act of courage, but also an act of extreme trust (maybe unconscious) in one's possibilities. The moment we become aware of why we have turned the page, we are pervaded by so much nostalgia, but also by the desire to discover what will happen tomorrow.
‘The starting point was the body and the exasperation of movement and immobility.’
Let’s speak about the conception of an idea, the creation of the mood board, and going forward to the shooting process. What elements are critical to include in the mood board, in your opinion, to assure a successful outcome?
The starting point was the body and the exasperation of movement and immobility. We looked for images and performances related to contemporary dance and Futurist Theater by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.
‘The human body leaves a trail behind, with each movement. Each of us carries charges of energy, feelings, and anguish.’
The body, the movement, the atmosphere are the crucial elements that eventually affect the way the editorial is perceived. How are body movements or the lack of such interpreted in this story to describe the idea of ‘leaving’?
"Like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way ever again." - Azar Nafisi.
It is a sequence of images, of body movements, that in an alienating way talk about what it means to “leave”. To leave oneself. To leave an empty space. Leave a trail. There is no introspection, only the projection of a body and a face in a room. There are no words or sounds.
In our opinion, the human body leaves a trail behind, with each movement. Each of us carries charges of energy, feelings, and anguish. It is part of what we are, part of how others perceive us. Each movement is a sequence of actions. Each action creates energy that radiates, disperses, and then leaves us.
‘Collecting and joining all the images to create the story made us realize how much images can tell, such a complex concept, in a simple but direct way.’
Styling allows emphasizing the ephemeral through the chosen fabrics and colors. How did styling develop, and what did you decide to leave out from the shoot?
The styling has been developed in the simplest and most graphic way possible to emphasize the movements of both the model and the lights. In each photo, you can find a precise and static line that, in a certain sense, manages to emphasize even more the idea of movement.
What is the most memorable moment or episode from the shooting day or the preparation for it?
The most stimulating moment was the creation of the layout. Collecting and joining all the images to create the story made us realize how much images can tell, such a complex concept, in a simple but direct way.
