See all photos from the exhibition online
I began making portraits in the early nineties when I photographed my family who are stonemasons. Each covered in a fine layer of white dust, I posed them as though they were Roman marble busts. This was the beginning of a self-made project depicting people working in a very physical way, marked in some way by the activity that they do. The announcement to host the 2012 Olympic Games in London was greeted with excitement and hope by many people in the UK and this presented me with a unique opportunity to reflect this sense of optimism. I began to photograph professional athletes as well as young people involved in sports in schools in the Olympic Boroughs and teenagers who play sport in clubs throughout London. Some of this work has been seen as part of an exhibition ‘Shared Dreams’ in Cuenca, Spain in 2010, part of Photo Espana, and in 2011 at the Hay Segovia Festival. Many of the young people were asked for their thoughts on the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to London, their relationship to their chosen sport and their hopes and dreams for the future. These comments were then incorporated into the display.
‘Olympians’ is an exhibition of portraits of Olympic and Paralympic athletes from the UAE produced in 2011. During my visit to the Emirates I photographed a total of twenty-four athletes, all of whom are exhibited here. I recorded each likeness in a similar way to create a uniform group although individual subjects were captured at different locations and at varying times. I have chosen those images which touched me the most and which I feel work best collectively. I often use scale in my work to create an opportunity for the viewer to look closely at the sitters. I have tremendous respect for all of the athletes who chose to be portrayed and I have tried not to impose too many rules on how they should pose. At the same time, I know exactly what it is that I am looking for in a likeness and this is generally a moment of self-consciousness or connection when the relationship between the athlete, me and an eventual viewer of the portrait seem to collide.
The ‘athletes’ project continues to evolve and now includes young Argentinean footballers, both men and women; Thai kick boxers; Japanese sumo wrestlers and women wrestlers.
Gabriella Sancisi
Gabriella Sancisi lives and works in London. She has shown her work internationally at venues including The Photographers’ Gallery, London, Nederlands Foto Instituut, Rotterdam and The Royal Photographic Society, Bath amongst others. She has carried out public art commissions in hospitals and at Heathrow Airport. Her work is held in national and private collections throughout Europe.
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