Sick Sad Blue

A relationship of acceptance and trust that unfolds between letters with tiny hearts, meetings and greetings, hugs and many, many taken photographs, sent using mobile phone, posted and shared on Facebook and Instagram.

Federica is a young photographer with a clear and vital view; then there is Chiara (clairenough on social media) who suffers from eating disorders. They meet by chance, whilst Federica is working on a post-adolescents project: Chiara's gaze is lost in dark thoughts, locked in a solitude that seems unreachable. Federica's fashion shots will bring them close together. Chiara finds them beautiful, but above all they reveal that Federica, almost unbeknownst to her, knows how to embrace pain without inhibition.
Chiara feels she can trust Federica, that she will help her protect herself, and that she will always be regarded with affection and respect. 

The bond between them develops and grows around psychiatry wards, eating disorders treatment centers and brief returns home; from unfamiliar rooms to windows with security bars, watching distant skies. Federica takes her pictures every time she manages to reach her; she sends her letters, images of wide open skies and deep blue seas. Her every thought is a melancholy caress, a small caring gesture.
Clairenough selfies are full of flowers; she posts them tirelessly on her Instagram page, in a continuous need for attention. "My shoes first, then I" – she writes within a spreading sea of images, taken from the internet and of herself, in an ambiguous and perturbing game, between seduction and arms crossed, marked by IV drips and plasters. Chiara's images counterpoise Federica's story, so clairenough appears as she wants to behold herself.

Chiara hands in her own fragility and beauty to the phone's screen; amidst blossoming and withering flowers, black nails and green then blue hair, perfectly made-up eyes pop out. Her body seems to be no longer hers: it is a kind of mannequin, the way in which Chiara alienates herself and offers a great visibility, in the uncertainty of a semi-life.

Federica Sasso was born in Vicenza in 1992. After graduating from art school, Federica moved to Milan to attend the Istituto Italiano di Fotografia and work as a studio assistant. Although her main interest is fashion, she is also drawn to the broad potential of portrait photography.

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