THE PROJECT

On 23 June, the United Kingdom will face one of its most important political decisions of the century. 41 years after the vote which kept the country in the European Economic Community (EEC), British citizens are asked to express their opinion on the UK’s continued membership of the European Union. The polls show a country torn in two: only two months and a half from the referendum, 45% of citizens are against BREXIT, while 42% are in favor, according to the Financial Times.

"BREXIT, from North to South’ is a photographic research project, which aims to document this complex and fragile landscape through a journey which will cross the island from North to South.

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THE STRUCTURE

The journey will start in Edinburgh on 12 June and end in London two weeks later on 26 June. The itinerary is based on voting polls collected by YouGov.

I will start the photographic documentation in Edinburgh and Glasgow, in the heart of pro-EU Scotland, and then head southwards, through the more sceptic county of Cumbria and the less-decided central regions, before arriving in London few days ahead of the referendum. The investigation will continue in the capital before and after the counting of the votes, until the outcome which will define the destiny of the United Kingdom is known.

The journey will take place with public transport, to increase the possibility of contact and encounter with the British citizens. Every stop on the route will be explored and documented, from the early hours of the day till night, from the centre of the cities to the peripheries, from the principal political events to the hidden pubs in the suburbs, in an attempt to capture as many visual impressions as possible.

THE OBJECTIVE

The project’s objective is to create a photographic reportage, able to describe the emotional landscape of the country in a moment which will be remembered as ‘historic’ for the United Kingdom and the European Union.

You will be able to follow my journey through an online photographic diary on the geopolitical magazine Eastonline. Also, I will apply to the most important international festivals of photojournalism, with selected and printed images from this project.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

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My name is Elisa D'Ippolito, I started taking pictures with a disposable camera when I was 8 years old and I have never stopped since then. I hold a degree in narrative photography and fine art print from the ISFCI ( Istituto di Fotografia e Comunicazione Integrata) in Rome. I love to photograph small details and big emotional excesses. I live and work in Brussels as a photographer.

MOTIVATION

1) A united Europe was born out of a dream of peace and integration, but there is a risk it will transform into a nightmare dominated by disintegration and nationalism. In an ever more uncertain environment, the British referendum has a strong symbolic value, as well as obvious political and economic consequences. A visual documentation of this event would represent an important, if not necessary, historic registration. It would also be an instrument for anybody interested in understanding better the times we live in.

2) Documentary photography can be compared to a species in danger of extinction, and as such must be protected. Thanks to technology, today everybody can be a photographer, and any image, if taken in the right place at the right moment, can become photojournalistic documentation. This transformation on one hand can certainly be interpreted as a positive democratisation of a once elitist discipline. On the other hand, it risks suffocating the quality of all the works which, more than catching the moment, find their power and depth in a solid narrative, a long-term approach and a more personal note. Through this work, I want to give my contribution to quality photography.

3) During my professional career I have lived for a year in London, where I developed a keen interest in the cultural habits and senses of national identity of its inhabitants. This experience is part of my motivation, as I feel prepared to analyse the multifaceted emotional landscape of my former host-country and its people during this historic moment in time.

SELECTED PICTURES FROM FORMER WORKS

" Brussels, Dream Ground"

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" Rome has been burnt in one day"

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" We Are Two Abysses"

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BREXIT, from North to South

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