Marcello Coslovi

The Wrong Side Of The Tracks

“With The Wrong Side Of The Tracks, I work on a specific area of Modena, my city, which lies beyond the railway and hosts a microcosm of people mostly excluded from the city life: a predominantly Ghanaian community, the second in Italy by number of inhabitants. Here, the sharing of the same space is challenging and tense because grounded upon prejudices and on the impermeable nature of the groups
themselves, within a real segregation perimeter, even if not physically present. The wrong side of the tracks is an American expression used to indicate that part of the city, beyond the railroad tracks, where
the poorest people live; it is mostly African Americans. Just a few steps from the train station, as if they were suspended in an empty, desolate waiting room, about to leave for a new journey most likely towards
the dreamed England, the community members live in a daily state of precarity. The constant perception of never putting down roots in Modena, but only passing through, forces people to live in a state of
perennial alienation.”

Project presented in Giovane Fotografia Italiana #09 – POSSIBILE

BIO

MARCELLO COSLOVI
(Scandiano, RE,1992)

Marcello Coslovi graduated in Law from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and lives in Modena.In 2021 he graduated with honors from the Two-Year Program of the Spazio Labo’ Photography School in Bologna. There, he currently works as a Teaching Assistant within the Three-Year Program in Photography for the Academic Year 2020/2023.

With an educational background and work experience in human rights and social issues, Coslovi mainly explores matters related to human diversity and the condition of social marginalization of certain groups.

His practice is characterized by a collaborative nature and an immersive approach that allows him to fully dive into the topics he deals with. He is interested in the use of the photographic medium both as a bridge to establish relationships with individuals belonging to communities, he is not a part of as well as to question the structural separation of people.

Since 2020, Coslovi has been working on the personal project “The wrong side of the tracks”, on the topic of the segregation of the Ghanaian community in a specific area of Modena, beyond the railway.

With this project, he has been selected as “GUP Fresh Eyes 2021”; he won “Miglior Portfolio Assoluto” at Fotografia Europea 2021. Furthermore, he was among the finalists for “Premio Marco Pesaresi 2021” and is on the shortlist for “Kassel Dummy Award 2022”. He is also among the finalists of the “Gomma Photography Grant 2021, in the “Main Prize” category.