Martina Esposito is a former BEMACC student and Business & Arts' former Vice President. Among other things, her passions include photography, art, fashion and travel, two of which she shares with us in this post. Her photographs, most of which are taken on disposable cameras, are playful and inviting and as she emphasised, "are taken with the aim of capturing memories rather than creating art".
" There’s a trip in my head, and you’re not invited.
From what I remember, I started taking pictures of people and places because I felt that my way of seeing them was not normal. Or that was just what my nerdy, teenage-girl mind made me believe. Regardless of what I told myself the motive was, I always knew that I wanted people to see the world through my eyes. Notice the details I notice, focus on the things that catch my attention, or see how ugly some things can seems from my viewpoint. All of this isn't to say that I'm a creative girl. I honestly just consider photography a passion of mine, a hobby that I could never see myself getting bored of. I bring my disposable camera with me 24/7 and I click every time I feel like what I'm looking at evokes some sort of sensation. Whether it makes me feel happy, uncomfortable, nostalgic or I simply find it weird, I'll take a photo of. Most of the times, I am really impressed by how corny my way of seeing things is, but there's also those few times that I look at a photo and I'm just very glad I took it.
Asia, for me, has become one of the most important and life-changing realities to observe and experience. I started my relationship with this continent by staying in Seoul, South Korea, for 5 months. If I had to describe Koreans, I would say they're obsessed with perfection and cuteness. They have 2 Valentine’s days and they buy flowers as a gift to themselves at least once a day. They drink loads of beer too. And eat lots of fried food. Always.
Tokyo was the second city I developed an incurable infatuation for. Everything is so beautiful, so aesthetically pleasing and well-thought out. Take a Tumblr city, add to it too many people and too much noise pollution and there you have it: that's Tokyo. Actually, that + the best ramen in the world.
Hong Kong is more of a jungle, so disorderly that you find yourself losing your perception of time and space. Everything is so mysterious, so alive, so futuristic and exotic, all at the same time. Fun fact from my experience there: it took me 5 months to distinguish tissue packs from wet wipes and from tampons!
All in all, I think it's easy to realise that I fell in love with the parts of Asia I visited + their cultures. It all happened by accident, but I'm glad it it, as I am now willing to stomp my foot until I get to discover 99% of it, if not 100%. Hopefully, in the next few years I'll manage to make that dream come true...Especially since I still have so many rolls of film ready to be wasted.
감사합니다 !! "
