(in)difference

Fotografia Europea - Circuito OFF, Archivio di Stato di Reggio Emilia, 2023. We often find ourselves facing situations larger than us, ones we are unprepared for. More often than not, they leave behind scars and indelible memories that, in some way, shape the way we act and define who we are. Identity, as we understand it, is fluid—constantly evolving and inevitably shaped by the impact of these experiences. Returning to the Academy of Fine Arts after two years, I was struck by a sense of frenzy and detachment—an atmosphere entirely different from what I remembered before the shift to remote learning. Sitting in a corridor, I watched students rushing past, walking with their heads down, or immersed in their phones. A sequence of individuals, all seemingly the same (in the most mechanical sense), lost in their own worlds—leaving behind nothing but a trace, or a shadow.