The International Call collected over 10,000 images in a few months. It was promoted by the magazine, Il Fotografo, by Roma Fotografia, by the Festival of Ethical Photography in Lodi, together with TWM Factory and The Walkman Magazine. From Spain to England, from Iran to Brazil, from India to Nepal, as well as in Italy, many people wanted to respond to the call with the aim of building a collective narrative that demonstrates the strength and violence of the virus, but also man’s ability to fight for his own well-being and cultivate his own hope.

Here we propose a little universe dedicated to a present situation consisting of gestures, routines and emotions, as well as new practices. It is a bottom-up composition that renders authentic the memory of all aspects of this experience. Hope, expectation, fear, sadness, but also the desire to regain normalcy. To rediscover the affections and relationships, to maintain contact with friends and relatives, to continue working, albeit at a distance, like what happened with school work. To rationalize the tragedy and, at the same time, to take action through conscious behavior.

We decided to start in Codogno, one of the first Western areas affected, in order to begin the process of restitution for our collective memories and experiences. The idea is to solicit a reflection, an elaboration, so that we can better understand what it means to be active participants in life. In the private dimension, as in the field of work, be it artistic, entrepreneurial, clerical.

Let’s take the time to rework ideas, reset priorities, and define our horizons and paths, our goals and values. Let’s try to comprehend how being together, the principle of every community and every survival, does not belong to an existing given, but rather is made present through an affirmation, a voluntary act, an awareness. We will return to a (new) normalcy, perhaps it could become an even stronger one, if we have the courage to confront this suspended space/time, this stumbling block that saw us fall to the ground. Starting up again means reopening activities, giving new life to the economy, rolling up our sleeves and exploring new ways and possibilities. In a broader sense, it means taking responsibility for our actions, but also accepting to look with different eyes at what is laid out before us, to discover that we are inhabitants of a space that awaits our contribution.