Martina Zanin

I MADE THEM RUN AWAY

I Made Them Run Away is a multi-layered story that ties together images of the artist’s family and photography, accompanied by texts written by her mother.

The piece brings together memories of the past and feelings of the present, to investigate and document the dynamics of modern relationships – the need for attention, the expectations that lead to disappointment, insecurity and passing judgment. The central themes include love, fantasy, illusion and identity. Moving between different perspectives, Zanin describes the often-complicated relationship between herself, her mother and the “man” – mostly represented within the piece as an absence.

Fantasising about a man that she was never able to have in her life, the artist’s mother writes down her thoughts and desires in a diary titled Letters to a Man Never Had. These poetical writings contrast with the torn-up photographs of the family, with only the figure of the mother or the daughter having been kept, creating objects saturated with rage and solitude. Every other photo is the interior reconstruction and expression of past feelings that come to the surface in the present; documenting fantasy and reality.

What does it mean for a child to live with so many strangers? How much have these past experiences influenced the way the artist now relates to others? The onlooker is struck by a feeling of ambivalence that is part compassion and part rage, never able to take a side between the two characters.

Project presented in Giovane Fotografia Italiana #08 | RECONSTRUCTION

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