On 20 December was held the official opening of Osservatorio, Fondazione Prada’s new space dedicated to photography (Pradasphere #18), which opens to the public today with an exhibition entitled ‘Give Me Yesterday’, curated by Francesco Zanot.
‘Give Me Yesterday’ uses the work of 14 Italian and international photographers to explore the use of photography as a personal diary from the early 2000s to the present day. In a world where photographic devices are ubiquitous and where images are produced and shared through digital platforms in a never-ending cycle, a generation of young artists has transformed the photographic diary into an instrument that focuses on their own daily lives and intimate, personal rituals. The photographers showcased in ‘Give Me Yesterday’ turn the immediacy and spontaneity of the documentary style into extreme control over the gaze of those who observe and are observed themselves. This creates a new diary in which instant photography is mixed with exhibited photography, imitating the repetitive cataloguing found online and employing the performative component of images to reinforce a certain identity.
Fondazione Prada Osservatorio – Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – until 12 March 2017.