« A great traveller with a passion for Africa, Nicola Lo Calzo knows that alongside cultural landmarks and fetish books, one needs a mentor and a guide to be shown the path. In his previous work “Morgante”, the role of mentor was played by Lyne Laure Nguewo, founder of ASCAPPT, the NGO that introduced him to the world of people of small stature. “Inside Niger”, however, sees the Niger river itself becoming the mentor, and its path dictates Nicola Lo Calzo’s itineraries while connecting the destinies of the characters depicted on these pages. And yet, aside from the few photographs where it appears in the background, the Niger river remains the silent character. Such is the river’s fate, its disappearance foretold, and a caution about the manifold dangers that threaten it, especially in the Niger Delta in Nigeria where the activities of oil companies have turned life into a living hell for inhabitants. But this absence is not unusual, simply because Lo Calzo always capitalises on the human aspect as an insight into realism, or even tell stories through his protagonists. Thus Characters depicted here are intrinsically linked to a river condemned to disappear by virtue of its troubled ecosystem. Thanks to a rather simple and systematic setup – posed portraits and frontal postures, overseen by a contact verticality – the objects/subjects of the photographs, statuesque, stare back at us, reminding us of their journey through time. Lo Calzo’s empathy and respect towards his portrait models transforms them into heroes; a transformation that encapsulates Italian journalist Pietro Veronesi’s words: “No, all men are not equal, yes, races do exist and are divided between inferior and superior, superior to all is the African.”.
Laura Serani, Art curator, critic and consultant From the preface to the book « Inside Niger », Kehrer publisher
NICOLA LO CALZO
Biographical notes
Nicola Lo Calzo is an Italian photographer born in Torino in 1979. After training in architecture, he started his artistic endeavour in 2001. His photography is that of a documentary proposal, undertaken halfway between journalism and art, while focusing on minority issues and human rights. He contributes with the press on a regular basis (Newsweek, Courrier International, Le Monde, Libération, Geo, Eyemazing, Photo, Repubblica, Corriere della Sera, La Stampa,…) and is also commissioned by institutional or commercial enterprises. His work has been exhibited in France and in other countries, and most notably at Rencontres d’Arles, at the Confluences Museum, and at the Alinari National Museum for Photography, in Italy. His photographs are in private collections and museums, such as the Alinari Archives and the National Library of France. Nicola Lo Calzo lives and works in Paris.
Book Signing at Paris Photo 2012, Kehrer Verlag, EE03,
Friday November 16, 2012, 4pm
Inside Niger – Nicola Lo Calzo
Textes de Laura Serani et Sami Tchak
Hardcover
English/French
21,5 cm x 31 cm – 116 pages
50 four-color plates
Paper 170g semi-matt Luxo
November 2012
ISBN 978-3-86828-353-2
Price 39,90 €
