Comments on: francesca mancini – asylum seeking refuge

By: Andrew Wiese

Andrew Wiese — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:06:44 +0000

Very evocative images of the shabby sort of limbo so many find themselves in, shot through with the ragged hopes and optimism that are the only way through for people. Great stuff.

I’m not usually one for this, but within this context, 17 — while beautiful and fitting in subject — feels to me like it needs darker treatment, maybe vignetting. Maybe in a while it will fit for me as it is, though, I suppose.

By: James Hudson

James Hudson — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:30:48 +0000

I don’t know what to say. But I am now typing and that is more than I have said about any other essay on burn for a long time so I guess I like it. Actually I like it a lot. Picture of the bird is too bright and sharp for me, it dominates the sequence. It needs to be blurred and darkened by about 3.6%.

By: vivek

vivek — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:38:15 +0000

36 % of life is fuzzy imho

By: zdb22222222222

zdb22222222222 — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:06:15 +0000

Number 17 is the most beautiful shot I’ve seen in weeks. The whole series is absolutely fantastic. Thanks again for printing these…it’s a pleasure to see such a great artist going after light and beauty.

By: Herve

Herve — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:10:46 +0000

DAVID!!! I am worried indeed…. Please, look at my hand…. How many fingers?….. :-)))))

By: john gladdy

john gladdy — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 20:55:03 +0000

except that the math is wrong :) its them funny rio cigars I reckon.
Its 16 2/3%

By: Herve

Herve — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 20:42:34 +0000

only 3 out of 18 photos could be described as not tack sharp…about 3.6 percent….
——————

Wow, the math…. you really are partying hard down there in Rio, David! :-)))

By: eduardo sepulveda

eduardo sepulveda — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:08:32 +0000

Piacere Francesca. Congratulazioni!

Straordinario lavoro.

By: Andy Gray

Andy Gray — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:32:34 +0000

I was happy this turned out to offer insider impressions and images rather than more objective photographs from a distance. I’ve seen many pictures of refugees and have a strong sense of what they “should” look like, but this series made me think I was missing the obvious. Contrary to Imants, I thought “mundane” and “boring” was a theme, not seediness, or that’s just what I picked up on. I appreciated the silhouettes, but they may be overused IMO. Like others, I wanted to comment on #17 and the closer — a great ending, clever but not overdone.

By: Frostfrog

Frostfrog — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:35:00 +0000

Powerful, strange, images, all – quite the essay for Thanksgiving day.

By: colin.

colin. — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:10:54 +0000

wow and wow and wow again. really though I dont have much more than that.

By: billy_mac

billy_mac — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:25:48 +0000

Hello Francesca. Thanks for submitting this work for us to see.

I felt the images were striking, and the subject immediately interested me. This is a subject we wrestle with here in London -often with the same migrant populations, who have come via other European countries- and it was interesting to see it being mirrored so closely in Italy. You’ve obviously gotten some great access for these shots… well done amigo.

What I’m wondering is: have you finished the project, or are you still working on it? This is a big subject, with other facets that I feel you could perhaps work on, to broaden the essay – for example the migrants’ interaction with police/ social workers, the boredom, etc. Perhaps it could also include more positive imagery of migrants who have successfully achieved asylum?

Anyway, thanks again. A very worthwhile subject, explored with a curious eye.
Billy

By: Mike R

Mike R — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:16:17 +0000

I like the photographs, a lot. At first I didn’t think that they illustrated the essay title or intro i.e. asylum and seeking refuge but then I realized that this must be how it feels to be in the asylum process: isolated, cut off from everyday normality, almost in a netherworld. Great use of (minimal) colour too.

Congratulations Francesca!

Mike.

By: david alan harvey

david alan harvey — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 10:13:45 +0000

JIM POWERS

well in a way, i do know where you are coming from on this, but isn’t this a very old aesthetic? Gene Smith? Gordon Parks? Charles Harbutt? i don’t see many “fuzzy” photos here, actually only 3 out of 18 photos could be described as not tack sharp…about 3.6 percent….hell, 3.6 % of life IS fuzzy….

seriously yes, many photographers do seem to get “boxed in” as you describe…yet i think Francesca manages to get past this potential block by simply having some brilliant imagery…great pictures usually make me forget the academics of themselves…i get lost in the moment…i sure did here anyway…

By: Jim Powers

Jim Powers — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:57:03 +0000

Very modern, meaning lots of very dark, fuzzy photos. I wonder if we are going to someday look back and laugh at photos from this period like we do popcorn ceilings from the 1970′s? The photographer is good, but is boxed in by the esthetic.

By: abele

abele — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:07:49 +0000

Congratulations, Francesca.
This essay, thanks to its personal and sophisticated visual approach, departs from the common imagery related to an issue we are used to see in Italian media. The decay of the housing structures carries both a meaning from a pj documentation pov and a resonance with the lives inside. #17 can be seen as a low-key interpretation of the peace dove… and I agree with nana above about the final sequence.

By: nana ziesche

nana ziesche — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:44:59 +0000

I like it very much, fascinating photos with a special atmosphere. And the little visual surprise of the bird-picture. And the next surprise that it wasn’t the last one, which was my first thought when I saw it. But too obvious. So the real finishing photo is much better. But I like the extended version on the website even more.

By: Imants

Imants — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:58:29 +0000

While I feel that this is a well crafted and visually proud essay, I do feel that there is a bit too much of a seedy nightclub feel about it. The failure to address the mundane, tiresome and boring of an asylum seekers life takes away the bite and reality of conflicting emotions.

By: Gordon Lafleur

Gordon Lafleur — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:46:27 +0000

It is not my habit to look at the photographs before reading the statement. However, I did so here. My very first impression was, “what a heartbreakingly beautiful series of photographs. Now that there is a story attatched, I’m even more overwhelmed. I LOVE this.