FEBRUARY PHOTOS

Introduction

by

Michael Organ

Matilde Gattoni’s photography shows the pain of survival, from workers burning in everyday blue to refugees in the aftermath of war. Each image tells its own powerful story, a truth directly from its subject’s beating heart.

Awash with the grind of a life grounded a man showers from the grime surrounding. Cities rise and prosper from the toil of those downtrodden, exploited by many, respected by few. Diamonds shine as the Dirhan shouts, the Dinar and the Dollar blackening blue the colour of the collar. Dividing lines the dots had painted, society steps backwards in the blind of progress. Faceless clouds ghost white towers, dripping with the blood from greed’s chain wielding, humanity dying as faces fall. Gattoni opens our eyes to the modern day past as prosperous cities lose touch with their own hands feeding.

The line lengthens as the longing lingers, refugees forced to flee the place they called home as camps attempt to provide safe haven. Lives are torn by uncivil wars, the fabric of morality in tatters as fear becomes the new currency of conflict. Women wait in line to register for food, their children held close as disbelief turns to distrust, reality starving the soul of justness. The photographer takes us into the heart of isolation as the ongoing effects of war reverse hope from hate.

In another land we find man at one with his work, breathing the air given by taking control. Again we gain sight from a lens’ open eye, the image showing all as its subject turns his back. Man is caught in the net of his catch as one life ends for another to meet. Daily life revolves around the need to survive as the only way forward is to go back to basics.

Stability reigns as a woman and her children today plant the roots of their next tomorrow. Nature provides structure for shelter as a once fertile land is deforested for survival. The bleakness of their future burns brighter than the blind of past haunting, each day scarred in the breath of before. In a picture of stories nothing is more powerful than a child’s eyes hiding, the fear in suspicion burning deep into the viewer’s heart.

War burns the bridges of trust, building walls of fear as another casualty lives its every after. Rabiah with her family escaped flying bullets, only to live in a nightmare relived daily. Life turns inside out in the breath of recall, each blink blinding the present choking. A distance is maintained in the identity of culture, veiled proudly from the one belief held. The will to the camera stands tall, but can never hide a soul crying.

Matilde Gattoni’s images continue to be published in magazines worldwide, their importance growing in an everyday declining.