For his series Screamers, Stefano De Luigi captured close-ups of protestors in Italy. Sahara Borja talked to De Luigi about the project:
Give us a bit of context here, which protests did you mostly attend? Can you describe the feeling in the air?
“I worked extensively for about a year on the social protests erupting in the country. Italy has been facing an economic recession for about three years now and the crisis is reaching its peak. What I tried to photograph is the terror felt by the middle class who are losing all the conquered certainties they have acquired over the last 50 years in Europe—this includes widespread wealth, secure jobs, free and high-quality education, and one of the most efficient healthcare systems in the world.”
Regarding the image format, why did you choose to focus on faces only and not the wider scene?
“I deliberately decided to focus on expressions—sometimes very dramatic ones. Images of masses in protest are not able to convey this sense of social discomfort affecting many citizens in Italy, and broader Europe. These frozen faces in a screaming expression of rebellion, terror, and sometimes anger better reveal the drama that many are facing.
(Photo: Milan – 7 October, 2011 – J., 15 years old, by Stefano De Luigi)
The Dish 