Way beyond a photography workshop, “Dalle 8 alle 8” (“From 8 to 8”) is a lifeline for your mind
Laura Davì is a professional journalist and photo editor. In this period of uncertainty, Laura started a workshop based on strict rules to help you set the pace of your days: take a photo on the stroke of every hour, no matter where you are or what you are doing. Lots of people are participating, teenagers and adults, professional photographers and amateurs intrigued by the project, even in groups.
Laura Davì draws inspiration from her long experience in the publishing sector and takes advantage of the skills she acquired while teaching photographic language and composition, as well as photo editing. The result is a journey that encourages you to look around in a different, more mindful way.
I have been wondering how I could make myself useful lately , making the most of the tools I am familiar with, such as editing, image education and teaching. I thought I could offer people the chance to spend their day in a different way while locked in their homes. How? Engaging in a serious game to take their mind off the many concerns arising from the emptiness I assume we all are facing at present. Laying our eyes on what surrounds us, on things that we may not observe attentively; lingering on details that take on new meanings, and discovering places that become interesting just because they are looked at in a different way…These are all aspects of the kind of image education that I have been working on for a long time
Four opportunities for interaction are provided: the rules are disclosed, the photos are taken, the experience is processed, and the editing work carried out by the single participants on their shots is finally shared.
Thirteen shots: when the alarm goes off, you stop right where you are, observe the things around you and take a shot. Just one. No cheating. At the end of the day, you send an email with your pictures.
The workshop “From 8 to 8” compels us to observe, recognize shapes and organize them. Frequently, the alarm takes the participants by surprise while they are engaged in some other activities. Sometimes, the alarm goes off when the perfect light is yet to come and by the stroke of the next hour it will inevitably have altered again.
The day fills with quality time, all the more precious in a period of isolation, when feeling lost is far too easy. The ways through which we perceive the passing of time have never been so contemporary. Whether we are fully alert waiting for the alarm to ring, looking forward to new rituals to grab onto, or immersed in our innermost time, Laura somehow leads us into taking care of ourselves.
The people taking part in the project are very diverse: men and women, teenagers and adults, professionals and amateurs, but also people intrigued by the idea of experiencing a different day and of joining a workshop that is basically an art project. As a photo editor and a teacher, I appreciate how varied the opportunities for observation are. I realized the existence, albeit often unintentional, of different languages and well-defined styles. I have been offering a workshop on image interpretation and selection for several years now: it is called The new languages of Editing in collaboration with Chippendale Art School. I also teach photography (composition, language, editing) to children and teenagers. This project sums up all these experiences
What comes out is a kind of visual anthropology where photography gives meaning to reality. To our reality, and to other realities we are yet to experience. Even as spectators.
