Cristina Cocullo The backstory

 An exclusive interview with Italian born London Photographer and tutor Cristina Cocullo by poetic 

With a unique perspective on the world, Cristina Cocullo’s photography has both a philosophical and theological world-view. Her eyes see the world, and its basic components, as an extension of artistic form, yet still ask the observer to deconstruct these basic components and evaluate their relevance. With some insightful exploration within her photography, her world image is both thought provoking and intense.

"My photography is a vision I have in my head I’m searching for. It is in my head, but is changing all the time. I am always seeking for something different",

"I do photography for myself, so the fact that I’m showing it is because I want to share it. I want to share my vision of the world and in showing it you come across other people who actually see something in what you do.'

 Religion raises it head as a theme in Cristina’s photography. Modern religion in her eyes is a paradox. "I am not a religious person myself. What I like are all the icons around religion. I’ve always been fascinated by them.’ And this fascination can be seen in her series 11 Commandments.

"I like to capture these iconic religious objects. I don’t see them in the way that everyone sees them. I am always trying to seek something that is going against religion itself. The commercial view of the icon and the way they are used for sale, that bit to me shouldn’t be there, because religion is something that is inside and there is a connection between you and whatever you believe".

Life of a Window is an example of metonymy in her photography, where a simple window represents the nature of the occupant’s life. ‘When I observe a scene there are small things that people don’t see or they don’t pay attention to. If you take a shot of a window and look at it you can figure out the kind of person that is actually living in the house. Then you start thinking, ‘What is he doing in his life?’

Cristina works very closely with Emanuela Franchini, another Italian photographer. Their latest collaboration, Wolfango, which was part of the Telling Tales exhibition at the Mayfair Library, is a modern exploration of the image of wolves in story telling. The work is imaginative, engagingly creepy and reminds you of all the big bad wolf fairy tales you were told as a child.

Her Photography Bibliography

After being discouraged by her parents to take up photography, Cristina studied advertising at university. She often snuck into the photography department to learn as much as she could. She opened her own advertising company after graduation, which she abandoned to go into photography full time.

Cristina is of Italian descent, being born in Pavia in 1972. Currently she lives and works between London and Milan. She is a teacher of photography and has many commissioned works for magazines and photographic studios. Her work has been published extensively, including Arte, G. Mondadori, Books Ed. Casa del Mantegna, Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Marie Claire, to name but a few.

Along with her success in publications, she has had numerous exhibitions. In 2001 she exhibited a series of photographs called The Human Side of Toys, which was a solo touring exhibition around different Italian cities. In the same year her work was part of Hands, a group touring exhibition organized by D’Ars Agency, in Milan, Bologna and Trento.  Two years later she was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Photographic Prize.

In 2004 Seven Short Poems was published by Signum Art Publishing, where seven of her images were matched with the poetry of Daniel Weissbort.  Her connection with literature continued in November 2008, collaborating with Sebastiano Benevelli on another booklet entitled Lo stato delle cose: svegliarsi a Londra, camminare a Milano, addormentarsi a Madrid.

Cristina showcased a solo exhibition at "http://www.foundry.tv/" The Foundry in London called Undicistanti in 2005

Further publication came in December 2008 in the online art magazine "http://www.blurb.com/books/916128" Platform58. And 2009 was another prolific year. During March-April she collaborated with the photographer  "http://photography.yolasite.com/" Emanuela Franchini on a exhibition entitled  "http://kefkarts.carbonmade.com/"  “Heterological Boundaries” at the  "http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/libraries/news/myfevents/" Mayfair Library, London. Following this from May-July Cristina had another solo exhibition called Telling Tales at the Mayfair Library in London.

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