Singh is an Indian boy of 33 years, worker in a barn. He lives in a camper (positioned in front of the workplace), earns 700 Euros per month but spends about 300 for eating / survive.
No vice is allowed, no unnecessary spending, the remaining EUR 400 represent the source of livelihood for his family in India. And then in January 2017 he will marry! It does not have a tv, but only a cd player.
He listens to the lovely melodies of his native country, in the barn during the work and in the camper during rest. He was happy for my visit because almost never speaks to anyone. Yes, because Singh is virtually isolated in the hills of Pavullo in Frignano, at 5 km from the village who can not catch up with the scooter, because in the winter it is not easy to use the two wheels and the insurance is suspended. I spent several days with him and when I tried to thank him with 20 Euros, because he allowed me to photograph and tell about his life, he refused. Indeed, he invited me to his humble abode and offered me a drink … not from a bottle already open … but from the best sealed bottle he had available. This project, which I work from about a year, tells about the life of a community of Indians established in the hills of frignano which is the main labor used in breeding, primary activity of these areas. How many of us, out of work, could live in these conditions? Why we usually do not recognize to these human beings the usefulness of the sacrifices that none of us want to do more unlike our ancestors? Singh is alone, in close contact with nature and with the animals, a stable and a CD player. Wake up at 3:30 in the morning, resting from 10:30 to 12:00, lunch at 13:00 and return to work at 15:30, to detach at 19:30. A well-deserved shower, dinner and then rest to return to the alarm of 3:30 hours. Saturday and Sunday included. It’s not possible leave unattended a barn. I don’t want to remember the frost and the night temperatures in a camper. And all this without having anyone around to talk or to ask for help when needed. Alone in his camper with his CD player. Yet Singh sings. He’s happy. It seems impossible, right? But it is reality. This is what happens to many human beings, 5 km from our dear and comfortable home or workplace.
About Pietro Sorano
Born in San Giovanni Rotondo (FG) – Apulia – Italy – on 05/12/1977. The passion for Photography comes relatively late, at age of 35, as a result of a Basic Course taught by a professional photographer in Pavullo del Frignano (MO) in 2013. I have devoted my artistic life to Music. I’m also a songwriter and I’m used to communicate through notes and words.I did not know or at least I did not imagine the communicative power of a photograph, until I started to try my hand in the creation of music videos to be associated with my songs. I discovered the “Stop-Motion” technology. Having to tie a long series of images, I used unknowingly compositional rules for the choice of frame.
From 2013 every opportunity is useful to capture moments from my point of view. I expanded my knowledge in Photography mainly self-taught, discovering and studying the images of the great authors (including, in particular, Mario Giacomelli). I started attending the challenging environment of the Photography Clubs by enrolling in FIAF. My research follows closely, although with a photographic look, what I have always loved to convey with the Music: The continuous inner struggle, the search for balance and symbiosis between lights and shadows of the individual. The autobiographical element is present in any work and is often enveloped by a sense of fear of the inexorable passage of time, with all that implies in the facts of life and society. A time which can only be stopped with the Photography. [Official Website]
