Bellissima follows the story of Rebecca, whom the photographer met on the stages of a popular Italian beauty pageant. ‘‘I was looking for a young girl who wasn’t necessarily a professional model, but who hoped to become one”.
The project reflects on the photographic medium as a dream factory. The photographer shifts perspectives to highlight the construction of images and the model. The symbiosis between model, photographer and viewer reveals how images influence the dreams and aspirations of young girls. The work aims to criticise photography as a stage for the representation of beauty and to challenge the idea of the latter as a cult achieved through the attention of the camera. Would beauty still have meaning if no one could look at it?