ALBA ZARI
TRIESTE-LONDON
︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎
Born in Bangkok in 1987, graduated from the DAMS in Bologna.She attended an intensive course in Documentary Photography at the International Center of Photography in New York and obtained a Master's degree in Photography and Visual Design from NABA in Milan. Zari employs the photographic medium as a tool for investigation and self-analysis, questioning its ability to function as a trace, clue, testimonial evidence, and its deceptive nature. Her seemingly rigorous and scientific approach conceals a deeply poetic interpretative capacity of themes of memory and identity.
Since childhood she led a nomadic life that brought her to live in different cities and countries. Her experience as a traveler influences and is reflected in her photographic practice, with intends to explore social themes, for example her visual studies of mental health centres since the Italian Basaglia Law and of the widespread eating disorders of the American society.
Her recent works include Fear of Mirrors (2023-2024), Rakshasa (2023-2024) Occult (2019-2023), a visual study on the propaganda of the cult Children of God, she travelled tracing her mothers past to India, Nepal and Thailand. The Y- Research of Biological Father (2017), born out of a journey in search of her origins through the father she never knew. Places (2015), a book and a photographic project executed with ElementWo, witch deals with analysis of the visual communication of ISIS propaganda. She has released the short documentary FreiKörperKultur (2021) premiered at the Venice Film Festival- Settimana della Critica. She is working on her first documentary feature film White Lies.
With The Y she is part of the Foam Talents 2020. Her work has been exhibited in international festivals and museums such as MAXXI, Rome, London Art Fair, Circulation Paris and Athens Photo Festival; won awards such as Backlight prize (Finland) and GraziaDei prize (Italy), Images Vevey Jury prize (Switzerland) . Her work is held in private collections and museums such as Fotomuseum Winterthur, MAXXI museum, Fondazione Orestiadi and Collezione Donata Pizzi.
She won the special jury prize at Images Vevey(Switzerland, 2022) with the work Occult, the Graziadei Prize (2021), and the second prize at the Backlight Prize (Finland, 2020). Her works are included in private collections and museums, including Fotomuseum Winterthur, MAXXI, Fondazione Orestiadi, and Collezione Donata Pizzi.
infoalbazari@gmail.com
C.V.
2024
Lecture at Triennale Milano, We are who we are program.
Occult, Performing Histories/ Histories Re- Imagined, Impressions Gallery, Bradford, U.K.
White Lies, Cannes Doc, FR.
Occult, Peckham 24 London, U.K.
White Lies, Bellaria Film Festival, IT.
Fear of Mirrors, Workshop Intergalatica, project co-funded by Creative Europe, Rome, IT.
We Have The Same Eyes, 8 March- 5 May 2024 at Fondazione Modena Arti Visive, IT>
Rakshasa, Exploring Mental Health and AI at UNITS, Trieste, IT.
2023
Residency University of Trieste, Rakshasa exhibtion for the Centenary of UNITS
Curator Far Reach exhibtion of R Gallery at Mahalla during Berlin Art Week
Gallerist manager R contemporary art gallery, Malta.
I am vertical, L'Italia è un desiderio. Fotografie, paesaggi e visioni
1842 - 2022, Le collezioni Alinari e Mufoco, Scuderie del Quirinale, Roma.
Lecture at ECAL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Workshop Pandora Box, Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Y, Giochi di Verità, rappresentazione, ritratto, documento. Opere della Collezione Donata Pizzi, Castello Campori a Soliera, Modena- Italy.
The Y Abbcedario Fotografico. Palazzo del Monte di Pieta’, Forli -Italy.
2022
Occult and The Y, Ncontemporary gallery, Milano
Occult, Images Vevey -jury prize Switzerland
Il vaso di Pandora, Workshop- Ragusa Fotofestival
The Y, mostra FOTOGRAFE! Fondazione Alinari, Firenze.
Occult, Chosen Family- Fotomuseum di Winterthur
The Y, Mostra FOTOGRAFE! Fondazione Alinari, Firenze.
The Y, Photolux Festival, Lucca
The Y, Festival Riaperture, Ferrara
Residenza Addis Ababa, Ethiopia all’istituto Italiano di cultura
The Y- mostra e seminario al Zoma Museum di Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Shortfilm Freikörperkultur, Trieste Film Festival
Massad, VR Biennale College Venezia.
2021
Lecture su Occult e The Y a UWE, Bristol University.
Massad, VR workshop Biennale College.
I am Vertical, Triennale Milano- Mufoco, Almanac of Suspension con Witty Books.
Freikörperkultur, Mostra del cinema Italiano, Barcellona.
Best National Prize, Freikörperkultur, Orivieto Cinema Fest
Freikörperkultur, La Biennale Venice International Film Critics Week. Sic@Sic. Venice.
Freikörperkultur, Orvieto Cinema Fest, International short film festival.
The Y, Eyes on tomorrow -Giovane Fotografia Italiana nel mondo- Farnesina at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Jury prize, Occult, Images Vevey
Occult, Royal Photographic Society, Bristol.
The Y, Bitume Photofest, International Festival of Contemporary Photography. Lecce.
The Y, The Families of Men curation of Elio Grazioli and Walter Guadagnini, Museo Archeologico della Valle d’Aosta.
The Y, Foam Talent, Foam Amsterdam.
Occult, Talk Charta Festival, Rome.
The Y, Ragusa Photo Festival.
The Y, Images Gibellina, Fondazione Orestiadi
Nominee C/O Talent Award, Berlin.
Occult, Maxxi Rome.
Lecture Forma Fondazione Fotografia, Selfportrait as Myself with Simona Ghizzoni.
The Y, Zapping the archive, Odessa Photodays, Bleschunov Museum, Ucraine.
Lecture Miniclick The Y and Encounter con Silvia Rosi.
October 2020-Feburary 2021
Occult
Situations/Closure, Fotomuseum Winterthur, CH.
2020
The Y, Foam Talent, Kühlhaus Berlin, European month of Photography.
The Y , Lecture Camera Torino- Looking for Family- Sottodiciotto FilmFestival.
The Y, Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athens.
The Y, Organ Vida Photography Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb.
The Y, Backlight Photo Festival, Winner Second Prize, Tampere- Finland.
The Y, Festival Circulation, Paris.
Lecture per Image Makers Webinar Photography Studies College (PSC) Melbourne.
The Y-Occult, Special mention at Plat(t)form, Fotomuseum Winterthur (CH)
The Y, Resistance and Sensibility, collezione Donata Pizzi: Women photographers from Italy. Fotografie Forum Frankfurt.
2019
The Y, MAXXI, Rome, Italy
The Y, Lecture at The Royal Photographic Society, Bristol.
The , Lecture at Reclyart, Brussels.
The Y, Lecture, Micamera, Milan, Italy
The Y, Fotografario, Autori del Friuli Venezia Giulia per il CRAF
The Y, Jest fotografia. Turin, Italy
The Y, Gibellina PhotoRoad, Project Prize
The Y, Offspring Photomeet- Superstudios London
The Y, Photo50, Who is looking at Family now? London Art Fair
Occult, Looking On, Sguardi e prospettive sulla nuova fotografia Italiana. The recent scene in Italian Photography. Museo D’Arte della città di Ravenna, Osservatorio Fotografico
2018
The Y, Self Reflection- NIDA International Photography Symposium
The Y, Winner prize GraziaDei- Maxxi Rome
The Y, Breda Photo Festival, NL
The Y, L’altro Sguardo, Italian women in Photography from 1965-2018. Palazzo Esposizioni. Rome
The Y, COSMOS PDF AWARD ARLES
2017-2019
The Y
Biennial Jeune Creation Europeenne, Montrouge (Francia), Hjorring (Danimarca), Wroclaw (Polonia), Cesis (Lettonia), Brno (Rep. Ceca), Cluj (Romania), Figueras (Spagna), Amarante, (Portogallo)
2017
The Y, Emerging Talent, Macro Testaccio Rome. IT
The Y, Exhibition Premio Francesco Fabbri per le arti contemporanee- arte emergente.
The Y, Festival Fotogra a Europea, Reggio Emilia (I) , Award Giovane Fotografia Italiana.
Lecture The Y, Artefiera, Bologna
2016
Places, Offcine Fotografche Rome, Meiner Gallery London, Oberkauf Gallery, LIfe Framer Gallery, Paris (FR)
Places, XIV FOTOGRAFIA international festival Macro, Roma (I)
2015
Places, Dummy shortlisted e mostra a PHOTOLUX, Self- publishing award, Lucca(I)
Places Il tempo delle donne-Corriere della sera, Triennale di Milano (I)
Places, Just another Photofestival Dehli (India)
Places, 11th -20th September Malmö Fotobiennal, Sweden (SWE)
Trompe l’oeil collective exhibition Master NABA con il progetto
See and not See a FORMA Foundation for Photography, curata da Francesco Zanot e Luca Andreoni.
EDUCATION
2024
First Cut Lab (White Lies)
2020
Circle Women DOC Accelerator (White Lies)
2019
EuroDoc – ReAct Section– Novi Sad: Workshop development of documentaries- feature films (White Lies)
2016
Residenza a Fabrica, Benetton centro di comunicazione e ricerca visiva. Treviso, Italy
2012-2013
Master in Fotografia e Visual Design 110 CUM LAUDE at Naba Nuova accademia belle arti Milano
2010-2011
Documentary Photography course at International Center of Photography in New York
2006-2010
Laurea BA al Dams Cinema, Lettere e Filosofia- Thesis on the photographic history of the Mental Illness after Basaglia law.