Corona has turned the world upside-down and all at once transformed my whole bedroom into a walk-in camera. My family and I moved to Italy in July 2019 to enjoy its Dolce Vita. Eight months later, all 5 of us are in quarantine but safe, at Bologna, in Emilia Romagna, in the North of Italy, not so far from the epicentre of the COVID-19 sanitary crisis. We had chosen our new home because of its gorgeous view of the oldest park, right in the historical centre of the city, with its magnificent age-old trees. I loved walking my dog in this park every morning or sketching the statutes under the shade of a secular tree. Since March 13 the park is closed and we must stay at home, every day, throughout the day, aside from a 15 minutes dog-walking. I miss the trees so much.

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While I was waking up later and slower than usual, because of the lockdown, I spotted an image on the wall opposite the window as well as the light passing through a hole into the shutter. An upside-down image of the outside world is projected onto my wall without me noticing it until our quarantine. The trees that I miss so much are coming and visiting me every day. Every morning, I take a moment to marvel at Corona’s contraption. I have captured what I see, the projection of what I miss more: my connection to Nature.

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According to Hindu mythology, Ashvattha is an inverted tree whose roots are up in the sky and branches down on the earth. As far as I understand, the inverted tree conveys the concepts of mortality, rebirth and ephemeral nature that takes precedence over everything. I wish my upside-down image of trees would symbolize our rebirth after the Corona crisis.

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Bio

I am Belgian and 47 years old. I have lived in rural Belgium until moved to Italy in July 2019. Former attorney-at-law registered with the Luxembourg Bar and specialized in corporate and tax law from 1995 until 2011. I am a mother of 3 children born in 2005, 2006 and 2008 and a self-taught photographer.

I attended weekly workshops at an art academy from 2012 to 2019 where I have learned the analogue photography, drawing and experimental research. Since 2016, I have also attended workshops at CNA (Dudelange) and IMAGE LATENTE (Paris) and got the chance to have my work discussed with other participants and big names such as Jessica Backhaus, Darcy Padilla, Anne De Gelas, Claudine Doury, Rafal Milach, Marc Prust, Uwe H. Martin, and the gallerists Katarzyna Sagatowska and Maga Sokalska.

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From a technical point of view, I practice compact and discreet photography with telemetric focusing system and a focal length promoting proximity, both in analogue with a Leica M6 (in black and white) and in digital a Leica M262 with SUMMILUX 50mm f1.4 (Before the digital Leica, I used a NIKON D7000 with 35mm DX).

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I am a fan of the humanist movement, and my photography is also compulsive. There is a cinematic aspect in my way of looking at the plans. My distance from the subjects/objects sets up a narrative.

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My work is about my own intimate personal story. I thought I was dying in 2011.