Hello everyone!
We’re back again and ready to tell you more about us in this second post.
Today it is rather grey, a bit cloudy; one of those days that reminds you more of autumn than spring. But we will definitely not let it get us down because, in our minds, we are always surrounded by colours and images, no matter what.
That’s the beauty of imagination and creativity: you can draw on it at any moment and in any circumstances.
In fact, last time we talked to you about our new visual “contamination” project. We are now at the start of this experimentation of ours, which is a source of great personal satisfaction.
It’s sure to have happened to you, whilst watching a cloud, to have seen shapes and images form themselves right before your eyes. Or maybe whilst looking at an old wall, amongst the cracks, you have seen an abstract painting, maybe something that only you see, or that nearly everyone sees, as the face of the moon.
Just like a shadow on the tarmac can seem to be projected by invisible and curious silhouettes, and so on.
Using these elements as our starting point, we began to think about how thin the boundary is, at times, between fantasy and reality; how the imagination manages to create situations which merge perfectly with what is real, creating something credible that we find really attractive.
And what if drawings invaded reality?
That’s how the idea was born on paper: our dancers who, up until today, were dressed in fruit and flowers begin to “invade” the world in search of their own spaces and boundaries.
On our Instagram profile @ficoeuva you can find them all using the hashtag #dancerinvader.
With a critical eye and spirit of observation, we travel around countrysides and towns with our dancers ready to take on reality; at times, they seem to tremble between the pages of the notebook in which we lay them, ready to invade the world in dancing steps.
It doesn’t take much – a moment, a glance – and a leaf becomes a tutu, or a scattering of fallen petals becomes the preferred stage on which to begin the sweetest dance.
These images were all taken outdoors using natural light and the reflex camera lens gives us the naked and pure reality of the things illuminated, which would be difficult, if not impossible to create artificially (and then it wouldn’t really be in line with our modus operandi for this project).
We love to put our dancers on the stage in late afternoon, in the golden hour of the falling evening, when the light is softer and warmer, the shadows lengthen and the music is sweeter.
Perspective is, amongst other things, the way in which objects appear in space and dimension. It can be used to achieve particular photographic effects (we’re all thinking about the classic photo holding up the Tower of Pisa, right? He he he…)
And so it turns out to be great fun to dance on the clouds or contemplate a paddy field whilst suspended over water.
In order to achieve these sorts of effects, it is often necessary to change physical position to get the best frame to put across the idea we have in mind. We don’t use supports for these shots but take the pictures freehand, using the bright, full light of early afternoon.
Our dancers love trees: on a dark background, we can get the contrast we need to best highlight the fusion between drawing and reality.
Our project is moving forward. We are beginning to invade the urban scene, so don’t be surprised if you see a dancer sliding down an arrow or if you find her sitting on a bench surveying the city.
We will leave them there, free to dance in the eyes of the passers-by, and whoever might want to pick them up and take them to dance on new stages is free to do so.
Fico e Uva
About us: Sara: a mother juggling two little girls (Vittoria, five, full of spice, and Caterina, a year and a half of pure energy), home and work; a food addict who loves to write, to dream and to travel.
Paolo: dad and other half of the blog, keen photographer and budding sommelier.
Known as @ficoeuva, we’ve been blogging since 2008. At our house, there simply isn’t the time to get bored, but everything is done with a smile!!
In our daily lives we both work in a bank, but in our free time we love to cook, manage our blog and always discover new experiences.
A blog we like to describe as family-run, where everyone makes a contribution; Babette the dachshund included.
www.ficoeuva.com
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ficoeuva@gmail.com