Beginning in early 2009, Rino Pizzi asked sixteen friends to pose for his camera with an object that had particular importance to them and contribute a short piece of writing that would describe the object and its significance. There were very few rules. The only limits the photographer set for himself were that the images all be in black and white and that the photos be taken in natural light, in places chosen by the subjects. The subjects would have little or no restrictions in their choice, except for a general limit to the length of their writing. The kind of object they would choose and the nature of the description were entirely up to them.



This book is the result of that collaborative project. Its development was more complex than it might seem. Objects were chosen that had a wide range of emotional qualities; and in the photographic process, the physical relation of the subjects to them were revealed to be as complex as the diversity of the narratives and memories that the subjects themselves brought to the project. In addition, the photographer found himself fascinated by the recurrence of objects, poses, themes and settings that seemed spontaneously to evoke the work of influential photographers of the past, turning his own experience into a reflection on the medium itself and its history.



The mirroring and refractions of the writing in relation to the portraits create a further level of understanding, beyond the nature of the objects of choice, and illuminates the poetic capacities of memory and affection, personal history and sentiment in a tangible, if fleeting, moment.