© Alisa Martynova from the series 'Nowhere Near'

In your project "Nowhere near", you compose a narration about journey and knowledge. We can say that there's a thin similarity with the Odyssey's main themes. You start from the universe (supermassive black holes and galaxies) arriving at humans. Can you explain to us why did you choose to compose your project in this way?

Alisa Martynova (AM): I believe the story of migration is as old as time, everything is in the perpetual movement and people have been changing places seeking new territories since their origins. The metaphor came into my mind after having arrived at this very consideration. I was researching the migration of various natural elements and it all came together when I read about the recent observation of hypervelocity stars trapped circling the event horizon of supermassive black holes. The only way they could escape was the moment when the two black holes collided flinging the orbiting stars out of their galaxies. Somehow it reminded me of the stories that some of my subjects told me about heading to Libya for work, being often imprisoned and forced to leave for Europe.

© Alisa Martynova from the series 'Nowhere Near'

© Alisa Martynova from the series 'Nowhere Near'

What is your formal education? What are your cultural backgrounds?

AM: Before coming to Italy I graduated with a degree in Foreign Philology in my hometown, Orenburg, Russia, while studying I acted in an experimental theatre troupe, so I guess that my attraction to metaphors and hidden meanings comes from there. Then in 2019, I graduated from a three-year professional photography program of Fondazione Studio Marangoni in Florence that helped me to shape my visual language.

Who are the subjects portrayed in your project?

AM: When I was working on the project I tried to tell the story of people with different backgrounds and stories, almost all of them come from different countries and cultures. Dora and Christ are two young people from Gabon who came to Florence to study design and political science. Mahamadou is half Senegalese - half Gambian and fled his country because of the political persecution, he was a politically active student and was chased after participating in a university manifestation. Angel and Gaia, are school friends in Livorno, Italy. Both of them are of Nigerian origin, one of the girls came to Italy with her parents when she was little, the other one is here for around 2 years. Clayton is a guy who after arriving in Italy discovered his passion for traditional African dances and subsequently opened a dance school hoping to teach a European to move as freely as an African.

© Alisa Martynova from the series 'Nowhere Near'

"Nowhere near" is a title that reveals a sense of loss and disillusion. Do you think that these are the sentiments of African refugees that arrive in Italy? 

AM: It is hard to say that all of them feel themselves in a certain way, but I have heard many say that they found themselves in a sort of a cultural bubble, not all of them learned Italian before coming and socially people used to relate to each other differently... One of the characters from the series told me that “migration is a lie”, a dream long-treasured but never fulfilled.

Do you think that "Nowhere Near" can be seen as a project of social protest?

AM: Well, this is a difficult question for me. . However, I would think about my project as a gentler form of addressing the issue. Using visions and metaphors, I am making an effort to recreate the atmosphere, the feeling that once it reaches a potential viewer, tugs at their heartstrings evoking a reaction. It is a less extreme way of expression, but if this brings even the slightest change, then it becomes a confirmation that our work as artists is not in vain.

© Alisa Martynova from the series 'Nowhere Near'

© Alisa Martynova from the series 'Nowhere Near'

What have you learned from this project? 

AM: All the people I met during the time I was making the project taught me something about courage and perseverance. Getting close to people who have decided to leave everything behind, often without the certainty of coming home again, is a very deep and powerful experience.

© Alisa Martynova from the series 'Nowhere Near'

What has changed in you, even with respect to this theme?

AM: That's another difficult question. I am not sure if my opinion on migration has changed, but maybe my approach to talking about it has. At first, I tried to cover the topic by taking photos in the reception centers, which was in 2016 and I just started working in photography. Then, two years later, when I came back to the project, I decided to spend more time digging into people's stories, finding out different aspects of the phenomenon, and struggling to come to different points of view, political, psychological, and human. 

LINKS
Alisa Martynova (website)