seeuropeans - albert&verzone

The images have been recorded with a 10x12 plate camera during five different summers and in 13 European beaches.

Rimini in Italy and Brighton in England represented – in the 1994 summer – the two starting chapters of this project, to which Tylosand in Sweden and Nice in France have been added in the 1999 summer.

Romania was the 2000 chapter.

During summer 2001 have been added to our project Ibiza, Helsinki and Jurmala beach in Latvia.

During summer 2002 have been added to our project Gibraltar, Tarifa, Bolonia, Los Caños de Meca in Spain.

This project - whose title is “Seeuropeans” – intends to provide a portrait gallery of Europeans on the beach. This restricted space running between land and sea comprises unique features, just as the ways of frequenting it are unique.

One goes there for relax and rest usually during the holidays or – as it may happen near a big city – for a pause during the working day. Here, lazily lying under the shining sun, time runs slower and people try to be what they are not during everyday life.

While portraying people we have noticed the many differences between the northern European beaches and the southern ones; differences due to the climate and the characteristics of the place, but what is more important, we become aware of the fact that the portrayed persons were capable of expressing quite vividly the peculiarities of the society to witch they belonged.