DETOUR IN DETROIT, 2015
Detour in Dettroit, selecting the images for the book, 2015
Francesca Berardi: Between February 2013 and November 2014 I visited Detroit six times, for a total of 77 days. After three years living in Brooklyn, I found in Detroit what I had been looking for when I left Italy and crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Space, both physical and for the imag- ination. That is why it only took me two days to decide to write my first book. An emotional and practical book about the city, mapped through a series of encounters with its people. I raised the money needed to start the project, managed to drive an automatic car and learned how to fix a bike tire. Over the course of two years I have collected stories, ideas and feelings, set within what seems to be a real movement of urban resistance. I trained my eye to observe si- lent urban landscapes, on which huge blocks of sky and abandoned buildings impose themselves, and I realized that fear and fascina- tion for decay quickly take second place. It has been like developing a way of seeing that is more like a way of listening, toward a world which can be complex and harsh at times, but also full of an energy that only appears when determination and potential meet. I invited an artist, Antonio Rovaldi, to join me and illustrate this journey. This is the result of our work.
A book by Francesca Berardi illustrated by Antonio Rovaldi
Photographies: Antonio Rovaldi
Design: Paolo Berra
288 pages | 17 x 21 cm
Softcover | English
€ 23.00 | June 2015
ISBN 978-88-908418-8-0
all images © Antonio Rovaldi and Francesca Berardi