OCCHIO VIVO

Our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance Brené Brown

Occhio vivo is my personal story of acceptance and search for a sense of belonging through the photographic medium. The project investigates the delicate subject of the sense of belonging to a place, of birth or not and the bond that binds us to them: places we know well, with which we are irredeemably united but still make us feel a bit out of place. People, like places, are a fundamental part of our life, they can influence and create stories. For years, my grandfather’s house was my binding stop, a small reality in itself: a microcosm departed from everything else. I had to be watchful, as my grandfather used to say: «Occhiu vivu», which in Sicilian means that I had to be careful, because I was exposed and vulnerable. Photographing my grandfather’s house and the people who represent him helped me to accept the part of me that I have always refused, which came from an interior refusal, because people who find it hard to have a connection and a sense of strong belonging are those who believe they do not deserve this connection.