A vita è 'nu muorzo, nun me fà' 'ntussecà: Interview with Ciro Pipoli
Ciro Pipoli, 25 years old and from Naples. More specifically, from the Spanish Quarters. He started with photography at 16 years old with the intention of showing Naples and Neapolitans to those who do not know the city very well. Now, this documentary of the city has become a full time job.
How did your photography journey start?
At sixteen I was still in school, so it began from this desire to communicate. My father is very connected to the territory and this is a thing he passed on to me too. Around that time I also began to recognize the strong cultural heritage of Naples: I was looking for a way to communicate this specifically. Because I am not someone who necessarily enjoys speaking or describing things, I was looking for a more direct way to do it. Photography presented me this possibility. It gave me the ability to transmit across images something that was unknown to many.
This desire to communicate as a 16 year old boy, who was exploring the city on his own, is where my art began.
You often go back and forth between videography and photography. What is the process in choosing which form to use, how do you choose?
Let’s say it depends a lot on the moment. Video is often a substitute in the absence of a camera. If not I would honestly take only photos, however it is impossible to go around with a camera 24/7.
At first, it was mostly out of this necessity but I do believe that sometime video transmits something extra that photos cannot. It is something that is transmitted through a smartphone and is more interactive than a photo which just captures one specific instant. A video places you in the scene.
Have you ever felt that Naples was confining or too small? What is you relationship with the city? What does it represent for you?
Honestly, I have never felt confined by Naples because it has given me the possibility to reach levels in photography that I don’t think I could’ve reached if I had tried to in other cities. For example, I have also photographed for a very famous fashion brand. Imaginable. I think a lot of this is connected to the fact that Naples allowed me to put the small and personal moments on display.
I once took a photography class where they asked us “where in the world would you ideally like to photograph”, and everyone chose places all around the world: New York, China…. But I think that I already find myself in the place that I want to photograph. Naples has everything you could possibly want to photograph. If you want to photograph art you can photograph art. If you want to photograph on the street, there are always people. If you want to photograph the ocean, there’s the ocean. So, let’s say, everyone is always looking outward but is never looking at home.
È sempre guardare un altrove, ma mai un guardare in casa.
If you had to choose three aspects of Naples that you believe encompass it, what would you choose?
First of all, it is a lively city. For example, for you girls who are very close to me in terms of age, it is really a city that allows you to live. I see these kids on Erasmus who are going in the young quarters because there really is so much life. It is a city full of life.
I also would say it is authentic. We live in a world where everything is growing at such a fast pace, but Naples still manages to maintain its authenticity. In travelling throughout Italy I have often felt that cities are adapting to the tourist, you no longer feel the soul of the city. However, I think that although Napoli does this to a certain extent it also manages to hold on to its identity and culture.
The last thing I would say is that Naples is an empathetic city, a city that understands. For example, when I’m walking around the city with a camera people often think I’m a tourist, but there are always people who stop me to give me advice on where to go and what to photograph.
To really understand Naples you have to speak to Neapolitans, because if you come to Naples only look at the aesthetic aspects you will gain a very limited perception of the city.
In your photos and videos, is there any one moment that struck you and has stayed with you?
The beautiful thing about this type of photography is that you are always interacting with people and there are many moments which have done so. So many doors have been opened to me because of this work, and sometimes this manifests in a very concrete way.
Last year, I took a photo of a man on the boardwalk and right after meeting me he invited me over for dinner. When I got there he had laid out all of his cameras on the table. He then grabbed a closed bottle of limoncello and two big cups. It was 10:30 am. He started to pour the limoncello, and never stopped. This is just one of many beautiful stories that have come from my type photography, and I think this is why I sometimes love to take videos because it allows me to preserve the voices or certain details which I couldn’t through a photo. But overall to pinpoint one singular moment that sticks out is almost impossible.
Napoli has gained a lot of attention, through the Hand of God”or series like L’amica Geniale. Do you see these representations as something authentic?
I think it is always somewhere in the middle. Often when I read or watch these stories about Naples, it reflects more Naples of the 80s. And maybe at that time it really was a difficult city. However it is not so accurate to Naples today. I will admit that maybe there are some radical flaws, such as a lack of cultural awareness, but I still think that the media mainly highlights the more negative sides of Naples. Through my photography I have met so many people who do amazing things for the city, but they never gain as much attention. This is a problem with the media in general, you will never have a full understanding of a person or their story.
Also It is important to note that the split between northern and southern Italy still exists and the representation of the south is typically violent. It is less likely to be a love story or something beautiful. Unfortunately, Napoli is often tied down by these interpretations based on parts of its past. But it is also at the fault of the institutions which don’t attempt to change this narrative.
