Valparaiso (2016-2018)
Francesco Merlini was born in a valley in the Italian Alps, which he refers to as Valparaiso. Despite growing up in Milan, he has a strong connection to this area. Not only did he often go there as a child, but his father died there when he was fifteen and his mother disappeared there a year ago without a trace. The love-hate relationship that Francesco has developed with his birthplace forms the guiding principle in his photographic essay VALPARAISO. In which he mixes memories with his dreams, nightmares and visions that have occurred in this place, in a silent photographic language that forces the viewer to pay attention. Every documentary aspiration went out the window when Merlini realised that he had never actually been interested in the natural beauty or the reality of this valley. With this series he simply wants to give a voice to a place that solely by being present in our lives, changes, protects and kills people.