Shine On
Alex Zoboli
In 2016, the result of the British referendum sent tremors throughout Europe, kickstarting a process of the country's departure from the European Community that would not end until February 2020. The referendum opened up a whole series of discussions regarding the future of the nation, but also regarding the validity and state of the European Union as a project. The Brexit conjecture reflected a longstanding rift in the establishment, a deepening crisis of representation in the party system, and the growing crisis of authority of national and international political elites. In fact, it was a crisis of national-popular hegemony over the British people by the central government. Over the past two decades, Britain has sought to reframe itself as a conjunction of historical past and political future. A past rooted in Britain's cultural heritage and a future that aims for a democratic, tolerant and creative Britain that faces the challenges of the new information age, the country's ethnic and cultural complexity, and, of course, Britain's displacement from the centre of the world stage.
I started this project in 2019, shooting all over the British Isles and reflecting on how British national identity has been reshaped in relation to a new global context. Shine On builds on this premise and seeks to delineate the multifaceted and elusive face of today's Britain: a liquid form, constantly changing and contradicting itself in search of a new identity. As I travel the country I called home as a child, I document a moment of strong community change – rediscovering places and memories, distorted and idealised over time, that have accompanied me till now.
Alessandro Zoboli (b. 1990) graduated from the Istituto Italiano di Fotografia in 2014. Between 2015 and 2019 he worked in Alex Majoli’s studio as an assistant, refining his skills as a photographer, printer and retoucher. In 2019 he joined Cesura Agency as an official member. Over the past years he has worked on a number of different long-term projects exploring the relationship between North Africa and Europe. Zoboli has also documented the Covid-19 pandemic and housing crisis in Italy; travelling the country from North to South, he photographs the conditions of inequality that characterise western societies, highlighting the forgotten discomfort experienced by millions of families. His ongoing Shine On project explores the multifaceted and elusive face of today’s Britain: a liquid form, constantly changing and contradicting itself in search of a new identity.
In Limine
The lack of affordable housing and ever-increasing cost of living in major European cities has become an increasingly serious problem, weighing on individuals and families alike. In Limine – "on the border" in Latin – is a journey of conquest and homecoming, a journey of struggle and an appropriation of cities as a place of experiencing possibilities. Cities shape our story, but they must respond to the needs and aspirations of the citizens of the future. What has shaped the faces of cities? Who built them – how, and why?
On a journey along the Italian peninsula, the project – made in collaboration with Marta Clinco – creates a multimedia narrative composed of audio, text and photographs. It investigates various critical points that characterise many of today's crises, including poverty, gentrification, inequality and a lack of public housing. It also tells significant stories of resistance and resilience, exposing the unwavering desire of the people we encountered en route to imagine a better tomorrow. The narrative of the city thus takes on the stories and faces of its own inhabitants. It’s their memories and first-person accounts that delineate the shape of the contemporary urban landscape.