Francesco Cascavilla is a 29 years old artist living between Berlin and Rome. In this series of pictures selected by Francesco himself, he is gonna walk us on a journey through the beauty of the human body.
In your work, the theme of the human body is a recurring one, why?
I have always felt fascinated by the human body. I consider it as the canvas that allows us to see the endless shades of our human experience. Therefore, when we “explore” the human body we are also exploring the human psyche and human consciousness. They both reveal themself through the body.
The way we hold our posture, how we hold our hands, how we hold ( or not ) our breath… Everything is a silent dialogue, and we’re not often aware of it. It’s the way we communicate with the world that surrounds us who we truly are and how we truly experience ourselves.
What is the relationship between you and the subjects you portray in your images?
Through my pictures, I have the privilege to take a journey in the Universe that is in each person. Somehow my energy meets the energy of the person in front of the camera, we create a deep connection, it’s a bit like sex ( laughs ) but also completely different.
The final picture is the meeting of these two energies: It’s not me, it’s not them, it’s both of us. On an “energetic level” this is how it goes: I project something that is mine on them and they allow it, they receive that energy and then express through the body their own experience of that energy. It is not so easy to understand, it’s something you need to experience.
We often see in your picture a representation of gender that seems to blur the traditional ideas of male and female. Can you talk about that?
As I mentioned, I see the body as the most external expression of what is inside. And what is inside?
Emotions, memories, ideas, and ultimately our consciousness. All these things don’t have a gender, they just are.
And of course, we all have aspects of ourselves that can be associated with ideas of masculinity or femininity, and I enjoy those aspects, I invite them to express themselves in my shootings. In conclusion, it’s not really about being masculine or feminine but rather expressing whatever aspect of ourselves we feel the most connected to at that moment.
How do you see society’s evolution in regard to this subject, “Gender expression”?
As we all know society tends to create categories, boxes, labels. And we’re often very happy to jump in those boxes because it makes us feel safe. It’s like being straight, gay, bi, or whatever …
I understand that each of us can identify more easily with one box than another but it’s important to realize we are not the box we identify with. I think people are becoming more and more aware of this and as a consequence, society will evolve. We are all so much more than the label we put on ourself and this is part of what I want to talk about through my work.
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