My (…) quarantine!

May 20, 2020

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An interactive photo-project by Michela Sartini

During these dark times, some people’s voices might easily disappear. “My (…) Quarantine!” photo-projects aims to give a voice to that person, especially women*, transgender, non-binary, who might find in dangerous situations all over Europe. In order to express their feelings, and in general to understand what they’re going through, by using the tool of photography.

Michela Sartini (1988) is a photographer since 2011 when she started to take pictures with an old film camera. Michela is interested both in urban and social photography and in the last years she followed the struggles of the Italian transfeminist movement ‘Non una di meno’ and the urban landscape study in city like Venezia. During the quarantine, Michela started the personal project ‘the quarantine diaries’. The shots were published on her Instagram account SickelaMartini. Between 2014 and 2015 she was volunteering in our association Balkan Hotspot for 9 months.

About the project

In the whole Europe the Covid-19 emergency has been a breakthrough in our lives. Since European governments literally closed down national borders through lockdown measures, every country has faced the sanitary emergency on its own.

In March I’ve started a personal photo project called ‘the quarantine diaries’. I used to upload on social media 1 or 2 photos per week of my days at home. My balcony became the main way to observe the reality around me. I renewed the knowledge of my personal and physical spaces. I’ve been quite lucky to live this experience with lovely flatmates and with enough spaces for each one of us.

I’ve wondered how this experience could have affected the lives of people I know in the rest of Europe. Especially for women*, transgender and non-binary people. Subjectivities that in ‘normal’ times are at risk of marginalization and discrimination and, within this emergency, risk to find themselves even more invisible.

*women: I agree with an inclusive definition of women which extend a female identity not just as the one related to the biological identification (cisgender). Identity is not related just to the biological status, it goes far beyond. For this reason, I have found proper to include transgender women as subjects of this research and people that identify as Non-binary that are socialized as women.

How does it work?

This is a double side project.

On one side the questions that will report the written point of view of the participant. The aim is to give a ‘frame’ for each photograph by getting deeper into the personal experience of these weird times. They will be both general and personal.

The answers won’t be edited and they will be published as interviews.

The questions have been thought to be asked to several women*/non binary/trans all over Europe with the purpose to build a framework of what is happening to ‘our’ lives behind the borders of the singular European States. It’s a way to connect people – and women*/trans*/non binary in specific – by raising the awareness that this emergency is affecting lives of everyone but in particular those of the ones who – also in ‘normal’ life – suffer gender gap and discrimination.

On the second side – but not latter for importance – the photographs.

Every participant will share one personal photo of her/their personal quarantine experience.