GIORGIO

Giorgio, he is a boy and he is also a photographic project born in 2015, when Gianluca Colonnese (Paola, CS, 1979) decided to tell the story of the lives of some young people taken in by Casa Filippide, a socio-educational centre in Cassina de’ Pecchi (MI). Among them is Giorgio, whose everyday life is described in Colonnese’s shots. Between the photographer and the young man, who has been affected by Tuberous Sclerosis since the first months of his life, a relationship of brotherhood and communication was immediately established, exacerbated by the willingness of his family, who took him in; in particular Giorgio’s mother, who set up the Raggio di luce foundation, from which the subtitle of the work originates. Colonnese’s reportage is determined by two aspects: the use of black and white and the detail of the hand. The first element is useful for him to focus the sense of the photograph on Giorgio and his hic et nunc; to avoid distracting the viewer with plastic hues, whose different strength would have made him turn his gaze to other minutiae. If Colonnese uses the camera as a medium to communicate, Giorgio employs his hands, which allow him to express his feelings.

They are at the centre of many of the photos presented. The visual path is with the image that the author calls ‘the most intimate of all’, which immortalizes Giorgio sitting on the sofa. In the editing, albeit in a very respectful way of the subject, the photographer decided to include images representing the most difficult moment in the boy’s everyday life: the one just before, during and after one of the many epileptic seizures that have accompanied him since childhood. In those moments, there is nothing to do but wait and give him strength. The photographer’s choice to avoid excessive images of suffering is meant to emphasize that despite everything there are many serene moments, full of affection and joy in the boy’s life. Gianluca has decided to portray Giorgio and his problems with dignity, showing that, despite everything, the 20-year-old is curious, intuitive and, in particular, a sportsman. There are many shots of him running or doing yoga, although it is when he swims that he is happiest. The project is not finished, it has no end date. This is because Gianluca intends to tell Giorgio’s story for as long as he is allowed to.

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