The project explores ritual, tradition and identity in islands of the Venetian lagoon, Sicily and Sardinia. Photographed amongst crumbling stone, dramatic rocks and rural fields, the portraits capture traditional costumes and masks worn during festivities and celebrations on these Italian islands.

Over two years, I photographed locals dressed in costumes inspired by paganism, fables and folklore. Working on analogue film with a large format plate camera, the images evoke a timeless quality and invite us to enter a haunting world of good and evil, the sacred and profane. Many of the portraits appear as characters we may have encountered in our own imagination, as boundaries between fiction and reality become blurred.

The series reflects the importance of community and togetherness in an increasingly discordant world. In maintaining these traditions passed down through generations, the images capture some of the mystery and atavism of these deep-rooted cultural rituals and beliefs.

Gli Isolani (The Islanders) was published by GOST Books in 2022