At #itchysilk we were taken by the French-Uruguayan photographer Bettina Pittaluga and her honest “considerate” photography. It was an image capturing the love between two black women that caught us; it was a delicate image of ‘love’-nothing more, nothing less.
Currently living in Paris and signed to Rocket Science Studio, Bettina Pittaluga embodies photography asking viewers to be inquisitive and challenge their views. In that challenge she ultimately asks us to think more profoundly and consider the hegemony and discourses leading to: “racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, grossophobia”-it makes for engrossing images.
In the “present moment”
I was fourteen when I was first introduced to photography. My uncle gave me his camera and instantly I wanted to know how it worked. At that time, I was living in a small town in the south of France. Every week after school, I learnt how to develop my own black and white shots in a dark room that was made available by the local council. I started taking pictures capturing my family, my friends and anything really that caught my attention. For me the photographs that represent me the most are the portraits of my family and friends. I can stay drowned into something I find beautiful for a long time. Photography allows me to preserve that emotion. I know I can go back to it by looking at the picture and still be in the present moment.
“Life is short……”
As soon as I had a camera in my hands, I never stopped using it, but as a means of expression. I didn’t think that one day it would be possible that this would be my job – until I decided to stop everything else and took the risk. I think several events made me realize very quickly that life is short, so I decided to take a risk. As I am a whole person, I couldn’t take this risk by halves, so indeed I stopped everything to devote myself only to photography.
So, experience love….
Very often, my friends ask me to photograph them for very special occasions. I photographed Lili and Adam twice, and one year apart. The first time they asked me to photograph them to celebrate their love. One year after, they asked me to come and witness the end of their union. It was the last day of their relationship. It was for me one of the most beautiful way to express that love is a spectrum.
Deconstructing hegemony
I very strongly think that the omnipresence of whiteness, youth, heterosexuality, the cis man, thinness, wealth… in the media is a huge problem. It is a completely unequal vision of the human race. I think this unequal representation is largely responsible for racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, grossophobia and the rejection of old age. It is very important for me to do everything to continue to deconstruct this hegemony, and I will not stop invoking all these fights until they are won.
Authenticity is what conducts my life, and therefore my work. I studied sociology and worked as a reporter. It’s really second nature for me to compose with what is already present and existent. It’s that I find inspiration. To me, the relationship needs to exist, even if it is very short-lived. Human connexions, sharing, confidence, for my part it is vital to my creation, it’s always a shared creation. I create an area of consideration, respect and caring all round, and I let the person be.
The fascinating part is the encounters I have with my work-the most challenging part is my political commitment.
“considerate” photography.
I don’t think I could take a photograph any other way. The way I photograph is intrinsically linked to the way I communicate. I need to communicate with the other person, to capture them – in every sense of the word. I will always be looking for what the other person wants to give me and take in their truth.