Nytte, 21, is a third year Bocconi student with a newfound love of photography. An ethereal presence with visibly good taste and a soft spot for beauty, Nytte is someone that does not go by unnoticed. When reaching out to her to discuss her feature, I was unsure about whether I should ask her to have a conversation with me — that we could then turn into a piece, or if I should give her the space to write what she felt. After some thought, I decided on the latter. So, in the following lines, you will find Nytte’s words on her journey of re-connecting to her creativity and using film photography as a means of meditation.
“I started shooting with film as I discovered my mother’s old Pentax P30 in her closet last summer. It was in the perfect condition. She loves photography and would have pursued it would she have been a bit less practical and a bit more bohemian back then. Unfortunately she stopped cultivating this passion after family life and work got on the way.
Like most children I was creative too as a child. But at some point in high-school I lost the flow as my priorities lied not in finding my inner peace as an artist, but getting into university and spending the remaining time exploring the nightlife of Moscow. But in the last two years I’ve been reconnecting with my inner creator through painting, writing and photography to the point where staying busy with these is like another form of breathing for me. It’s the key to keep me going along all the mundane daily tasks that a person living in the 21st century deals with.
The Pentax these pictures were taken with is a model from the 80s that my mother bought in Germany during her travels as a flight attendant. When I shoot with it I not only pursue my own creativity but also carry on her devotion towards beauty and attention to detail.
The process of capturing a moment has a great element of control for me. I like to keep my shots simple and clear but always real. It’s also about connection. I’m very introverted so I can feel easily alienated and I need other ways of connecting with people than talking. Also, by “materialising” my perceptions around me, I take my thoughts and feelings less seriously, and more sacredly. So I capture what I find peaceful and visually pleasing to the eye and true to the moment. It’s my way of accepting and making peace with our world that can feel rather broken at times. On a more subconscious level, when I take photos I become one with my environment and the subject, I feel calm and the need to create a narrative in my head about purpose of life disappears. The world makes sense at two points: 1) when I see a perfect visual through the lens, and 2) when I receive the developed photos and I have materialised the connection I felt through the process. The end result is the sense of sanity, and hopefully alluring yet sincere pictures that bring satisfaction to other people too.”
