THEMED AREAPaolo Marchetti
The Price Of Vanity

Vanity has always generated a huge interest, especially in the arts, just think of painters such as Tiziano or Memling, but also in sculpture and literature.
 One may also think of a key character like Narcissus and his story, a symbol of Greek mythology, that was characterized by the insidiousness of vanity itself, just like that of Lucifer, or Adam and Eve.

With this work the author intends to project the analysis of vanity in the current era and investigate today’s forms of narcissistic expression and its social mechanisms. But above all, his aim is that of telling the price of vanity. It is common knowledge how intensive farming works, it uses industrial techniques to get the maximum amount of product at the lowest cost and using minimal space. At the same time it is much less clear how intensive farming works in relation to the huge business of animal skins destined to the worldwide high fashion market. This work seeks to tell the sacrifice hidden behind the ruthless values expressed by the high fashion, and its cultural trend dominated by remorseless standards of beauty.

At date, Paolo has accomplished the first four chapters of his work, in Colombia, where he told the intensive breeding of the crocodiles, in Poland, a minks farm and in Thailand inside an ostriches breeding. In addition, the photographer told the lucrative activities of the tannery, necessary after slaughter of animals, and, in order to complete his investigation, he documented the incredible circus of high fashion, photographing that place that responds to many questions and represents the ultimate destination of a long journey, that is to say the catwalk, symbol of a widespread social urgency, namely the need to be watched.


www.paolomarchetti.org/stories/the-price-of-vanity/

www.paolomarchetti.org

Paolo Marchetti is an Award and Grant winning independent photographer based in Rome, Italy.
He has worked for thirteen years in the cinematographic industry, covering each role in the Camera Department.
In his photography Paolo has always paid particular attention to political and anthropological issues and has embarked upon a freelance career to focus on a combination of long-term personal projects and client assignments.

His projects are regularly published in international magazines such as L’Espresso, Internazionale, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, 6MOIS, Sunday Times, British Journal of Photojournalism, The Guardian, Le Monde, Geo Germany, Geo Latvia, Geo Finland, Days Japan, Der Spiegel, Stern, Newsweek US, Newsweek Japan, CNN, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Time magazine, National Geographic US among others.
Marchetti has been awarded with prized several international recognitions such as: ten consecutive times the “NPPA – Best of Photojournalism”, eight consecutive times the “PDN’s Award”, the “Getty Images Editorial Photography”, two times the “American Photography Annual Book”, eight times the “POY – Picture of the Year”, three of which in the prestigious category “Photographer of the Year” and in 2016 Marchetti won the first place.

Marchetti’s projects were exhibited and screened all over the world all over the world, during the most important photo festivals, including “Visa pour L’Image” in Perpignan and five consecutive times during the festival of  Arlès, in NY at “Bronx Documentary Center”, in San Diego at MOPA – the Museum of Photographic Arts, in Amsterdam during the award days of World Press Photo cerimony, in Paris  for the first prize recognized by the ANI Pix-Palace Foundation, in China during the Pingyao International Photography Festival, etc etc.

Marchetti is currently represented by Reportage by Getty Images and the new born Verbatim agency.

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