About This Project

Camilla Gorini

In a letter written by Cortázar I found a manifesto that I all too closely took as a rule of life, and which, had I had the gift of writing, I would have put into words myself. The poet Julio Cortázar wrote this about houses: ‘I look at the physiognomy of houses as if they were faces, I return to them with my imagination, I climb stairs, open doors and contemplate pictures. I do not know whether men are too ungrateful to houses, or whether my gratitude is a form of neurosis. The fact is that I love places where I have encountered a minute of peace, I never forget them, I take them with me and I know their intimate essence, the mystery yearning to reveal itself that dwells in every wall. I am sure that the houses try to speak, to make themselves loved, and sometimes I explain the ghosts to myself: how can one not return from Death, to visit beloved homes? I will be a tireless ghost.’ Ritratto di un interno (Portrait of an Interior) is a journey through the faces of some historic Italian homes. The houses, just like literature, have been my privileged interlocutor. The photographs were printed by hand using an ancient photographic technique from the late 19th century, Kallitipia.

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