Corpo Desiderio
Corpo Desiderio is a story shot by the Italian photographer Tonino Pepe, currently based in Rome. The point of research lies with intimacy, the photographer-model relationship on set, and the presentation of the nude body. Through the tool of Black & White photography, Tonino decides to rediscover the aesthetics of dreams and translate them to reality.
The distortion, the remembrance of minimal parts and features of a dream, the atmosphere, and the narrative that happens beyond - are manifested in this shoot. “Photography is objective, and it always analyses real facts, but personally, I adore some kind of deceit, a marginal representation of reality.” - Tonino shares with us.
We speak with Tonino Pepe to get a better notion of the idea driving him to realize this project through personal interest in dreams. Irene and Moiveive, the two models in the shoot, enhance the idea of sleeping in contrast to being fully awake through closing and opening their eyes, lying in the bed, and questioning the photographer or the viewer on where lies the line between the imagined and the real story.
‘This photo series generated itself from simple temptations, from the fascination of the shapes that move me the most. It was created from the imaginative deformations that tend to evoke a dimension that only belongs to dreams’
Hi Tonino, tell about this project and how did it come about?
This photo series generated itself from simple temptations, from the fascination of the shapes that move me the most. It was created from the imaginative deformations that tend to evoke a dimension that only belongs to dreams. These shots explore hidden sexuality, a primitive desire that plunges me into the deepest form of nostalgia
‘The bodies, through these deformations, bring me back to ancient civilizations and suggest statuary, monolithic shapes.’
The prominent element is zoom-ins to the body parts and the facial features of the model. What was the feeling you wanted to convey or the viewer to sense?
It’s not so much a sensation as real research. In all of the languages I use, I try to achieve an archetypal vision, reducing to the minimum – to a synthesis – what I see and live. The bodies, through these deformations, bring me back to ancient civilizations and suggest statuary, monolithic shapes. The intention is to create ritual masks, a forbidden and fearful vision.
‘Inside dreams, everything is crystal clear and out of focus, and in this state of confusion, we don’t really understand why we tend toward deformations and altered deconstructions.’
Work with light and shadows and the B&W adds an additional layer of what can and cannot be seen, what you choose to show versus the hidden. Let’s discuss those decisions in the project.
The reason behind this stylistic choice is connected to dreams. Inside dreams, everything is crystal clear and out of focus, and in this state of confusion, we don’t really understand why we tend toward deformations and altered deconstructions.
‘Photography is objective, and it always analyses real facts, but personally, I adore some kind of deceit, a marginal representation of reality.’
What is the topic that is most fascinating for you in photography?
A lot of themes, one of these is to create images of a certain elegance, beyond the material subject. But the matrix is certainly the manipulation of reality. Yes, photography is objective, and it always analyses real facts, but personally, I adore some kind of deceit, a marginal representation of reality. There it is - the mystifying power.
Which moment from this project is most precious to you?
Well, having the possibility to lay the camera on a naked body is extremely precious. It may sound obvious, but in nude photography, there’s such a heartbreaking intimacy that rarely occurs between two people. The thing that surprises me the most is that today we are so used to posing in front of our smartphones while there’s still a certain shyness towards a camera. It’s like the photographer has – more than other people – some kind of shamanic ability to go deep inside. This is the most precious moment: to have intimacy without a caress.
