Veronica Barbato

Is the photograph of a loved one something we possess or something we have lost? A portrait is always the presence of an absence.

 

This is the story of Veronica Barbato’s sister. At the age of 23, she committed suicide after a long period of drug addiction. With this work, the author grants her a second life by using photography, language, and the dimension of urban art, making her travel the world in a way she never had the chance to. The author launched a poster campaign to turn her into an icon, testifying to the fundamental role of art in shaping perception.

 

A photographic exhibition on the move, "on the road". In the photographs, she includes bright colors to represent hallucinations, phrases taken from her secret diaries, or the splash of glitter that alludes to the false illusion of drugs. Despite everything, the colors are a celebration of her life and her person.

 

The project seeks social redemption, bringing its protagonist, Maria, to a new life. The artist wanted to make a dream possible, giving her the magic that her sister never believed she possessed. Maria was a different person in a world made only of rules; that is why she has told her story, giving her dignity, now that she is no longer anyone, now that she is everyone's sister.