You spent two years capturing the people you photographed. What did you learn?
In these small communities, perhaps unsurprisingly, traditions run very deep. It is not always easy to pinpoint the exact origins of the festivities and the costumes associated with them. Even within the local groups there is discussion and debate about the true meaning of the celebrations, which has created contested narratives. Many of the costumes and associated rituals and celebrations date back to pre-Christian times, and the stories they relate to have evolved over centuries.
There are some costumes in which the relationship with folklore and fables is clearer. For instance, Sa Filonzana in Ottana, Sardinia is a masked, hunchbacked old woman, clad in a black dress and shawl. Some say she is based on the ancient goddess Clotho, who represents fate. As she walks among the performers she also spins wool, which represents the thread of human life.
Sarule in Sardinia is home to the Maschere a Gattu: a tradition that sees female villagers dress in intricate handmade costumes and veils that represent birth, death and the union between two individuals. The name refers to the women dressing like ‘gatte’ (cats) with their doubled, dark skirts worn around the face and neck.
The traditions represent good and evil, the sacred and profane, salvation and triumph. Many of the themes expressed through the costumes and masks are present in the Italian folktales by Italo Calvino, where readers enter a world of mysticism, magic and adventure. In my book Gli Isolani, the embodied figures exist between fiction and reality, as characters we may have met before in our own imagination.
Did you encounter any challenges in trying to understand the cultural context of these traditions?
There are so many different cultural influences on these islands, which are expressed through these costumes and traditions. Many of them are hundreds of years old, and some can seem outmoded and misaligned with some contemporary views. For example, some of the costumes refer to the influence of Judaism – and these are quite sinister, so you could see them as a negative depiction of the Jewish beliefs. I am always cautious not to photograph anything strongly derogatory towards a person, faith, belief race or culture.