Davide Sartori

The Shape of our Eyes, Other Things I Wouldn’t Know

For a long time, I saw my father as a stranger: someone I didn’t know how to talk to or spend time with. A few years ago, I found out about my grandfather’s premature death, when my father was coming of age, and how, because of that loss, he has been forced to follow the same career path. I realised that the absence of a traditional paternal model was something that both he and I had in common.

So I decided to focus on the question: what does it mean to be a good father? Traditionally, the father has the responsibility to work and provide. Through this distancing from the family, often both physical and emotional, the archetypal man can fulfil his obligations, and thus, his role.

In an attempt to create a connection with him, I visited his workplace and invited him into mine. They Say the Shape of Our Eyes, Other Things I Wouldn’t Know takes form as a series of attempts to get closer to my father, both physically and emotionally.

The airport and the photography studio become the backdrops for our encounters, while photography serves as a key tool to explore our relationship, in a continuous exchange of roles. The project combines collaborative actions documented photographically, portraits, and archival material, brought together in eleven attempts to narrate an exploration that becomes mutual. Collectively, these images serve as tangible proof of our relationship, capturing both the distance and the need for connection.

They Say the Shape of Our Eyes, Other Things I Wouldn’t Know wants to act as a bridge between generations, in which by facing the fear of seeing myself in my father, I become an example for him in terms of empathy. This project opens up questions related to vulnerability, seeks to question socially established norms, while aiming to activate a dialogue on intergenerational trauma, going beyond individual experience.

Project featured in Giovane Fotografia Italiana #12 | UNIRE / BRIDGING

BIO

Davide Sartori (1995) is a photographer from Italy based in the Netherlands. In 2024 he graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, with a Bachelor in Photography. In his work the viewer is challenged to question the truthfulness of a photograph.

Archival material, documentary photography, and constructed images are intertwined. The medium of photography functions as a tool to engage with multiple realities at once. Inspired by his own life experiences, his work reflects a profound interest in human behaviour, passage of time, and traces that people leave behind. His research is driven by the interplay between presence and absence, examining how photography can capture and influence both personal and collective memories.

In November 2024 he has been awarded the Public Prize for the Steenbergen Stipendium at the Nederlands Fotomuseum (Rotterdam).