Francesco Berlingerio

Francesco Berlingerio was born in Brindisi, Italy, in 1980. Upon his graduation in Sociology, he progressed his professional career in the UK, in the field of child protection, and since then he has been working for a significant number of Local Authorities.

He became interested in photography and when he turned 23, he got carried away. To build his knowledge, he immersed himself in the study of analogue photography and darkroom film development. His photography projects are focused on the unrelenting inequality of human conditions.

His work is mainly undertaken in monochrome, with the purpose of investigating and documenting social issues, such as: identity and borders, the anthropic relationship between people and environments, as well as their life conditions. During the earliest stage of his career as photographer, he worked in partnership with press photo agencies based in Italy and Italian newspapers and magazines such as: il Manifesto, Diario, Il Messagero.

Upon graduation at the University of Lecce, he undertook statistic research about the street children phenomenon, in Kenya and Colombia, where he also worked and cooperated with NGOs. At present, he is residing in London and his work is committed to long term projects and work on assignment. His recent work, Resilience, has been featured by different print and on-line magazines and also shortlisted for the collective exhibition at Boomer Gallery, in London.

From the Artist... This is a long term project, a result of a journey, which started in South East Asian countries: Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. Between August 2019 to March 2020, I crossed 4 borders and I arrived in Myanmar, my last destination, due to the onset of pandemic. I was fascinated by the imbalances typical of South East Asian countries, to tell what somehow exist but is always out of the spotlights, given that mostly there is a tendency of pointing on touristic attractions, leaving aside all the rest. A personal research of resilience, as concept, has begun with the use of photography. It is a slow and unconventional journey, as well as a search of details and peculiarities, of a hidden childhood and its bond that breaks.

Resilience is also defense and resistance, against coercion. Poverty, corruption, deprivation, totalitarian military regimes, undermine the individual freedom and rights. This is having today, a negative and long lasting impact on the most vulnerable due to gender stigma. Child sexual and labour exploitation is a very controversial topic in South Asian countries. Furthermore, the ongoing Chinese control and imperialism, which do not support the people’s welfare, is triggering inequalities, gender differences and human rights violations. This is also a diary, which became part of an editorial and anthropological project, as well as an opportunity to preserve the memory.

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