What is Europe to you?

In questo progetto fotografico, l’autrice Lisa Borgiani pone come quesito di partenza per la propria ricerca un interrogativo, una domanda esplicita e inequivocabile, spiazzante. What is Europe to you? È la domanda da porre a soggetti presi a campione in diverse città europee, rivolta a individui appartenenti a matrici sociali eterogenee e trasversali spesso in contrasto tra loro, ma suscettibili di una visione che rientra nell’ambito del senso di collettività. Un progetto in continua evoluzione – cominciato certo, ma ben lungi dall’essere finito – che si pone l’obiettivo di comprendere il concetto di Europa attraverso foto-interviste dedicate e ridotte all’osso. Ogni coppia di scatti è siglato da una keyword che identifica l’idea principale a cui i soggetti presi in esame si rifanno maggiormente nel processo di identificazione di un’idea che riguarda il concetto di Europa. Si tratta di un progetto trasversale e colorato, nonostante la scelta formale del bianco e nero pur così calzante, un’analisi dello statu quo della percezione socio-politica dell’istituzione e della compagine europea, un simultaneo ragguaglio dell’esperienza politica e socio-culturale fino ad ora espletata dagli stati, e dalle persone, del nostro continente.

Name Alberto

Place Cimitero Monumentale – Milan

Profession Retiree

Europe is Absolute Reality

Europe is a positive institution: certainly there have been and there are still difficulties in implementing this institution that started as simple a monetary union. However, Europe has given us order and we must participate, we must be there, in order to make our contribution and achieve a positive result for us too.

Name Marco

Place Piazza Duomo – Milan

Profession Actor, model, stylist

Europe is Positive Force

Europe is absolutely a great opportunity that we have to take together: in Europe we are all brothers, we must live together, collaborate… This certainly makes us much stronger. For me, it is positive force, exchange, interaction between different cultures.

Name Burkhart

Place Gartenstraße Mitte – Berlin

Profession Escape Helper during the cold war

Europe is Unity

I think that Europe is a very important thing and we must protect the rights that we have accomplished. But also we must be strong to deal with the challenges that the future will present i am very worried of all above China and Russia. I think that Europe must strengthen itself in many means. We must not think only about economy, which is important, but also about a common military and foreign policy. We must absolutely be united.

Name Nikos

Place Herodes Atticus Theatre – Athens

Profession Doctor

Europe is Dignity

I think that Europe is a good and right thing till it does not insult the dignity of people.

Name One Athenian

Place Vuelo Beach – Athens

Profession –

Europe is People

I really hope all the people of Europe are going to be united.

Name N’Cho

Place Metro Cimiano – Linea 2 – Milan

Profession Dog Sitter

Europe is Paradise Lost

I’m from the Ivory Coast. Coming here, I dreamed of a beautiful and joyful life, but it was a disappointment. When we are in Africa we imagine finding paradise and then, when we arrive, we find another thing. Above all, I miss the humanity of people.

www.whatseurope.eu

Lisa Borgiani’s work ranges from photography, installations and mobile sculptures.
She has exhibited in various galleries, museums, international art fairs and public institutions: Embassy of Italy in Washington D.C., European Parliament in Brussels, Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco, London, Singapore and others. For several years she has collaborated with architects, researchers, Italian and American universities, directors and economists. In October 2017 her permanent installation “Waves of Light” was inaugurated at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. In June 2018 her work “The unexpected meets rationalism” won the tender organized by the Brera Academy with the residence on the Comacina Island (Como), where she created an installation inside the house designed by the architect Pietro Lingeri and built in 1939.In October 2018 she participated with the installation “enne points of tension” at the Fabbrica del Vapore as a Special Project, Step Art Fair 2018, Milan Sculpture. In March 2019 she created the installation “The unexpected meets rationalism” at Villa Leoni, Ossuccio (CO) continuing her dialogue with the rationalist architecture.
Since 2003 she has been working on various street photography projects in Bosnia, south America, United States, Italy, Israel and Greece.
Lisa Borgiani, Verona, 1979, lives and works in Milan.