La Verità su Emanuela

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” — Elliott Erwitt

Peter Bracke traces the creative roots of this work to a visit to Rome several years ago, when he realized he had hit the limits of his personal bandwidth for static monuments, museums and the linear narrative of history. Bewitched by the beauty of the place he opted for a more random path of chance, guided only by his enchantment with the city’s beauty.

The dreamy images made with his camera obscura revisit the ephemeral feelings of those free-floating days wandering the roads of Rome. Light, airy shots taken in a low, slightly voyeuristic perspective with long exposure times capture the mood of the day. At dusk, near the Villa Borghese, he notices letters painted on a pavement, revealed to be a declaration of love — a lost moment of intense romantic emotion. A case of serendipity where coincidence is the engine of discovery. The conjunction of a dreamy walk full of images and the discovery of a text that takes you where you want to be… in your heart.

— Lieven Neirinck & Robert Salzman