Ambra Vernuccio

I am particularly interested in the profound cultural and identity changes that occur in our contemporary world, especially in the relationship between urban and suburban spaces and the individual.

Over the past three years, I have travelled around Europe, but only recently ventured into Africa. Every country, city, continent has its own story, interesting aspects and subjects and the images for me are the result of encounters with authentic people with their emotional and physical baggage exposed.

In 2011, I worked in Kenya where I have held a Visual Art workshop for children in an orphanage in Kayole, Nairobi. Seeing their courage and listening to their stories made me want to investigate the roots of social structural issues that countries like Kenya are now facing and how this is influenced by its economic system.
I focused on the streets of two neighbourhoods in Nairobi: Kibera, one of the biggest slums in Africa, and Umoja. The fact that I was living in one of these neighbourhoods and not in the western side of Nairobi, made it easier for me to have a contact with the local community.

As a result, my work “Nairobi: Face to Face” focuses on candid shots of individuals related to their environment. I wanted to show all those intimate moments that are part of the everyday life and which reveal the bond that exists between a person and their life in the slums. Places, which are at the same, time somber, moving, joyful and interesting.