Regrowth

Jasper National Park, October 2024

Hey Fall! 

This October marks my very first newsletter and I am excited to dive deep into a fresh new way to share my work and my process with you all. This month has been intense, I am currently camping, living and working on the road while travelling across British Columbia and Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. 

As a nomadic soul that doesn’t enjoy settling down for too long, I have been deeply enjoying the constant change of scenery that life on the road brings me. Having this close and direct connection to nature is essential to my image making practice, particularly at this time where I just completed a photo series I have been working on for over three years. More on that later. 

Transitional times when a body of work is completed and there is nothing else at the horizon can be daunting. I am aching to start a new long-term project but not having the clarity and life experience needed to do so. Those in-between life cycles can be frustrating, but I find they are catalysts for creation, a great opportunity to let go of expectations and explore unrestrained and playful creativity.

In these moments I am very grateful to have the space and time to take my practice on the road. My home on wheels becomes a mobile art residency, where I get to explore as I please and fill my heart with joyful activities that my soul deeply craves, such as campfire cooking, a secret passion of mine. 

What’s next: In November I’ll be returning to my studio and work on scanning and colour grading the photos I have been creating over the past few months. I am excited to see what shape this work will take over time and share it here as it progresses.

UPDATES

Saved by a deer

I am releasing a new book, Saved by a deer! Produced in collaboration with the New Heroes & Pioneers. 

I have been working on this project for the past three years and it feels surreal to finally release it. 

Shot in and around the Southern Gulf islands of British Columbia, this immersive series is about my journey with depression and how daily exposure to nature can positively affect my well-being. I didn’t share much about my mental health struggles in the past because I find it’s extremely difficult and vulnerable to have that conversation with other people, let alone online. 

For a very long time taking photos and writing was the only way I could check in on myself. The book is a result of this process, a collection of intimate imagery and poems that I wrote during these years of self-discovery. A heartfelt love letter to the island I call home.

Pre-orders are available here

Harald Sohlberg for The New York Times

I was lucky enough to travel to Norway on a dream assignment for The New York Times, following the footsteps of Norway’s national painter Harald Sohlberg. 

Through fjords and National Parks, I traced a visual map of the places he deeply loved and felt connected to. Seeing the landscape through his eyes has been an extremely cathartic and inspiring experience. Reading about him, his process and solitary devotion to nature I couldn’t help but think we are kindred spirits. This is the type of assignment that doesn’t come by very often and I savoured every bit of the experience.

You can read the full piece with a handful of my photographs here

Places and things that stole my heart lately

Jasper, Alberta - The beauty there is absolute. The area is now in process of healing from last Summer’s wildfires. Travelling through Jasper was an eerie emotional experience, one I am hoping to repeat every year to document the land’s process of recovery and transformation. 

Cache Creek, BC - What a joy is to see a desert environment a few hours drive from Vancouver. As you leave the snowcapped mountains and lush forests of the Pacific North-West headed North, you are greeted with a completely different scenery. Transitional landscapes have always captured my imagination and I absolutely loved camping there for a few days while exploring the area. 

Thank you so much for being here. I truly appreciate your presence.

If you want to talk about anything you read, thoughts or questions about my work -or simply want to say hi! - reply to this email and I’d be thrilled to chat!

Chiara