Photography and timelessness
Photography is a medium that sometimes acts like a time machine. Joseph Agius talking to the photographer NICKY CONTI about her current exhibition, Memories of My Islandin the Postal Museum of Malta.
JA: The American photographer Paul Strand once said: “The artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where it lives or a few feet away. Always on his doorstep.” Is this the philosophy you follow? Is there material worth investigating a little outside the house, in addition to the abundance of subject in the domestic walls?
NC: Yes, it’s a philosophy I follow; however, the question with me is, where is home? Having lived away from ‘my island’ for more than 17 years, I struggle to consider Malta as home, and yet, when I talk to foreigners and my friends in the States, I always refer to Malta as ‘ home’ or at least I say, ‘I will go back (to visit) home’. I think I will always consider Malta as my country as it is the longest place I have lived in my life so far, especially after having lived in three different countries since I left in 2005.
Photography increases my sense of sight and observation. I never take anything I see on the streets for granted, especially in New York, which is where I’ve been living for the last 10 years. Fun fact: we have a ‘safety’ catch phrase in New York that says: “If you see something, say something”. In my case, if I see something, I grab it. New York provides me with a visual playground the minute I step out of my apartment in Queens.
It’s where I started street photography, and four years later, the City and its boroughs continue to enchant me as I continue to creatively photograph urban scenes. Visiting Malta to be with my family gives me the opportunity to rediscover places, buildings, streets that I knew and took for granted as a child, teenager and 20-year-old. I see ‘my island’ with both native and tourist eyes as old familiar places present themselves in a new light.
JA: I feel that you almost effortlessly look for pattern and geometry in your compositions, in the same way as photographers Paul Strand, André Kertész, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Lucien Clergue. The audience is invited to enter the picture. Are these photographers models? Any other photographers you would like to mention?
NC: They are all photographers that I greatly admire, and among many others there are a few that have greatly influenced my work. Primarily, there is my first street photography tutor, Alan Schaller, a young and now world-renowned street photographer based in London. I had noticed his work on Instagram back in 2018, and in October of that year he advertised a weekend course in New York. I was the first to join. Alan was an eye opener. His mentorship and passion for street photography came at a time when I was still trying to find the ‘voice’ in my vision. I still apply the same capture and editing techniques I learned from him.
I fear that I will lose sight of what constitutes our Maltese heritage and culture
I’m also a big fan of Ray Metzker who is particularly known for his photos of Philadelphia and Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s. I learned about it when a critic once compared my photography to that of Metzker for the use of high contrast and chiaroscuro effect in urban settings. I was immediately drawn to Metzker’s work and have been inspired ever since.
Last but not least is our very own Guido Stilon. I discovered Stilon through Time Machine back in early 2020. I was not in Malta at the time, but my father was lucky enough to see the exhibition at the Malta Postal Museum in Valletta just before the lockdown. I still have a copy of the catalog that I cherish. Stilon’s photographs are compelling narratives of our society back in the 1950s and 1960s. I admire his eye for architecture and urban spaces, the use of light and the framing of individuals and people in the streets.
JA: The title of the exhibition Memories of My Island indicates recollection, rewind. In your words: “Memories are never one hundred percent accurate. We only remember what was significant for us at the time, adding certain details and reducing others”. This exhibition is therefore about selective amnesia, since the “forgotten” parts of memory are hidden by “dark shadows, negative space and silhouettes?” Being away from the island for a long time, the act of returning to actually revisit the background of those memories leads to disappointment as time tends to degrade memories darling Does the harsh reality of the country scare you?
NC: The identity of my island lies in the centuries-old streets, houses and historical places. This identity forms mine. It is what shapes the way I see myself and the world. The ever growing soulless and sometimes senseless construction is eroding our true and unique identity. One could argue that I am using negative space and shadows to hide the dissonant and loud modern building that intrudes.
At the same time, I am being selective in the memories I want to recreate and remember. I fear that I will lose sight of what constitutes our Maltese heritage and culture. This fear motivates me to take my camera and go to shoot sights that I recognize and remember from my previous years. In this way, I feel that I accomplish two things: to revive my Maltese identity and to immortalize typical local street scenes in a photograph.
JA: You draw people in silhouette; their anonymity, however, greatly adds to the narrative and magical quality of the pieces. You feel that you need to ‘silence’ humanity, even if the reality is noisy, as in your photo of what looks like a village market. Am I off the mark?
NC: I like to use alternative ways to capture people in everyday street scenes. I challenge myself to create magical moments out of the ordinary by experimenting with different angles, perspectives and finding geometric patterns in which to frame the people in a scene.
Sometimes, I put a person in the center of the stage, as in City Center (pun intended, or not!) as well The Stairswhile in other photographs the people become the background, as in Market Day. I don’t like to disturb the moment by either asking or making people aware that I am photographing. It is also because I am not asking their permission to utilize backlighting, silhouetting and shadowing to anonymize them.
JA: When one mentions street photography as a Maltese genre, one immediately remembers David Pisani, the photographer-artist who documented Valletta for almost three decades. One could say that this seminal documentation of the gentrification of our capital city can be defined as a kind of photograph. When does street photography become portraits?
NC: There is more than one aspect to street photography. What I follow is more along the lines of fine art; it focuses on the play of light in harmony with architecture, streets and urban spaces, creating a unique and contemporary visual. I describe David Pisani’s collection of Valletta disappears urban landscape photo documentary as it shows the state of the city as it is. I find this similar to Fred Lyon’s photos of San Francisco and Berenice Abbott’s photos of Manhattan. I don’t consider these to be portrait photography necessarily as the empty landscapes are the main subjects here, not the people.
On the other hand, photojournalism puts people in focus and captures them in the heat of a moment that happens, such as protests, wars, events, ceremonies. Last but not least, I would like to classify anthropological and social photo documentaries as an aspect of street photography.
I challenge myself to create magical moments out of the ordinary
Guido Stilon and Joseph Darmanin (‘Gululu‘) were masters at this. The two observed and took pictures of the daily life of the Maltese in the streets. When they did this, they articulated facial expressions, fashion, gestures, body language as well as social behaviour. They are also historic in many respects, as were Vivian Maier, Robert Frank and Gordon Parks in the United States.
JA: Valletta is a city of grids and models; New York City, the city that has been your home for the past few years, also has a grid-like structure. What other parallels do you find photographically? Both cities are both photogenic and prima donnas?
NC: Short answer, yes, both cities are photogenic prima donnas, and despite their grid-like structures they are completely different in many ways. Valletta offers centuries-old, baroque-style, honey-colored stone buildings that are round and stubby in shape and size, while Manhattan is made up mainly of modern, tall, skinny skyscrapers that cast endless shadows. end Most of these are made of glass, which lets in softer, softer street light and light that is different from the harsh Mediterranean sunlight.
Unlike Malta, which basks in the sun most of the year, New York changes every season. Winters are special. They bring together fresh snow falls that take the edge off the City and turn it into a white winter wonderland, perfect for monochrome captures. The subway in New York is just another ball game. I spend hours underground photographing passengers, trains, anything that moves under the cool neon lights that serve as perfect key lights. The people in the streets are the same but different. There are more people in Manhattan so it is also more challenging to photograph since I am afraid of crowds and watch out for single individuals.
I generally apply the same techniques in capturing and editing images when I’m shooting. I’m doing both cities, however, I’m a different photographer; in Valletta I am a nostalgic romantic expatriate, in New York a lonely adventurous soul. Whenever I’m traveling to other countries and cities, I become a curious street cat, dreaming and feasting on the novelty that meets my eyes.
Memories of My Island, hosted at the Postal Museum of Malta, Valletta, continues until 13 August. Opening hours are Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm and Saturday between 10am and 2pm. The exhibition is supported by the Malta Postal Museum and iLab Photo Ltd. Admission is free.
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